Same Old, Same Old
by wildblues
Summary: It's the same old thing, day after day. But Bowser takes a wild twist, burning the Castle to the ground, leaving Mushroom Kingdom in turmoil. -COMPLETE-
1. Chapter One: Polishing the Plot

Disclaimer: Super Mario and all characters don't belong to me. They're Nintendo's.

Chapter 1: Polishing the Plot

_Same Old, Same Old..._

Toad sighed as he polished the silverware, his boredom increasing at a steady pace. Being a mushroom retainer does have its perks, but on average, it was a rather uninteresting occupation. Granted, he got to live in the castle, and was one of the princess's good friends, but one could wonder: who could possibly enjoy cleaning the enormous castle, or waiting at the door to greet every person who walked through it, or giving his possessions to Mario any time he dropped by. However, he did enjoy the card games.

The mushroom boy placed another tarnished silver spoon down on the table. He hadn't been paying much attention to what he was doing, and a row of half-polished, half-tarnished spoons were spread out before him.

Things had been unusually quiet lately. No racing, no tennis, no kidnappings for that matter (although he would really rather avoid having to deal with the latter) and he was terribly bored. _Maybe Yoshi will race with me or something..._ Toad thought as he wiped the top of a fork. His thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the door behind him, and he shifted slightly in his seat to see who had walked in.

_Oh, it's _him Toad thought when he caught a glimpse of the neatly trimmed moustache, and quickly brought his attention back to the fork in his hand, ignoring the old mushroom man who had walked in.

"Good afternoon, Toad," Toadsworth said, stepping over to the mushroom boy to observe his work. He picked up on of the dirty pieces of silverware and cocked an eyebrow, turning it over in his hand, "Are you really hoping the princess will eat with these? It's not really up to her standards."

Toad resisted the urge to say something along the lines of, "Bugger off, Toadsworth," and settled on, "I'm only getting started, Sir."

"Well, it seems you'll be here a while yet. Enjoy your work, Toad." Toadsworth chuckled, "keep going, boy," he added, before slipping out the door.

"Sure thing, you old fogey," Toad said to the closed door, and began breathing on the fork and rubbing furiously at it with the rag in a vain attempt to try and add to its less than impressive apprearance. He placed it down on the table and snatched another one.

"One down, 149 to go."

"So, I just grab the melon, and come back down again?"

Yoshi nodded, eyeing the melon in the tree hungrily, "Yah, you get melon, bring it to Yoshi. Yoshi reward you well." The dinosaur sang, flipping a coin over in the palm of his hand, "One coin?"

"Make it two and you have a deal."

The dinosaur frowned, "Yoshi only have one coin..."

"One coin equals no deal. Sorry, dude..." The mushroom youth said, and scampered off in search of another way to make some quick cash.

"Fine. Yoshi doesn't need you." Yoshi said haughtily, turning away from the mushroom's retreating form.

With his eyes still fixed on the melon, Yoshi opened his mouth and his tongue extended quickly, sticking fast to the fruit. It then retracted, plucking the delectable treat from the tree and straight to its doom, the bottomless pit of Yoshi.

"Don't know why Yoshi didn't think of this sooner," Yoshi chuckled. He looked around a bit, searching for more food.

He didn't find any, but he did spot some of his friends, which weren't as good as food, in his opinion, but would suffice.

He made an odd squeaking noise, and ran as fast as his stubby little legs would carry him to the figures in the distance. One was tall and skinny, dressed in blue overalls and a green shirt. A green cap, sporting his trademark "L" covered his dark, messy hair. Anyone in the Mushroom Kingdom would recognize him as Luigi Mario, the younger of the Mario brothers. The other was a slightly shorter woman, with brown-red hair at shoulder length, and dressed in a yellow dress. A studded crown sat on the top of her head, and flower earrings on her ears. Princess Daisy. Yoshi admitted he didn't know her very well, but he still thought she was rather nice.

"Luigi! Princess!" he gasped, out of breath after his quick sprint.

"What is it Yoshi? Is something wrong? What's happened?" Luigi gasped, worry visible in his dark eyes, "Is it a rabid goomba attack? A wild koopa rebellion?" He shook the dinosaur's shoulder, "Yoshi, speak to me! We need answers!"

Yoshi blinked away his confusion and smiled at Luigi, "No. None of that. Yoshi just wanted to see you, that's all."

Luigi blushed in embarrassment, and Daisy giggled uncontrollably.

Once she regained control of herself, she knelt down beside Yoshi and patted him on the head, "Hey Yoshi, we're glad to see you too! Right Luigi?"

"Yeah, ecstatic..." Luigi said in a barely audible voice, still embarrassed by his earlier display.

"What you doing here anyway? The Mushroom Kingdom is a bit far from Sarasaland, Yoshi thinks," Yoshi asked.

Daisy stood up again and dusted off her dress before answering, "Well, the wonders of warp pipes! You know-" She was cut off when a small mushroom girl ran into her, "Oh!" she exclaimed, and knelt down beside the fallen child, who was sniffling.

The girl apologized quietly, but remained firmly planted on the ground. She held one of her hands in the other, sobbing and sniffling.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Daisy inquired, feeling compassionate toward the small crying child before her.

The small girl thrusted her hand outward, and Daisy noticed that there was a small splinter wedged into her palm.

"Aw, a splinter? Want me to take care of that for you?" she asked, and was answered by vigorous nodding.

Yoshi and Luigi looked at one another, and shrugged. They merely opted to watch the scene in silence.

Daisy removed her glove, "Now this might hurt for a little bit, but it'll be over real fast, okay?" and she pinched the little splinter between her thumb and forefinger, and yanked it out quickly, causing the child to let out a small gasp.

"There we go, all done," she said, smiling. She helped the child up, receiving a quiet "Thank you..." from the mushroom girl. Before she left, she turned around and rushed back, hugging the stranger who had helped her and saying a much louder and heartfelt "Thank You!" before rushing back to her friends.

Daisy laughed slightly, "I like children."

"You're very good with them!" Yoshi exclaimed, "You should make a great mother to Luigi's and your children, Yoshi thinks!" the green dinosaur chuckled at the looks on their faces, which were a mix of surprise and embarrassment

Daisy laughed nervously, "Oh Yoshi, you're cute!" she said, patting him on the head again, blushing furiously.

Luigi, whose cheeks were slightly tinged with colour, chuckled slightly too, "Well, we'd better get going, I guess. Nice seeing you, Yoshi..." he said, grabbing Daisy's hand and starting in the opposite direction.

"See you, Yosh!" Daisy said before following Luigi's guiding hand.

"Bye, Princess Daisy and Mister Luigi!" Yoshi called after them, "Hope you have lots of kids!" he yelled down the busy street after Luigi and Daisy, who were, for some reason, in a huge hurry to leave now.


	2. Chapter Two: Koopalings and Shiny Things

**Chapter 2: Koopalings and Shiny Things**

_Same Old, Same Old..._ Bowser thought, inspecting his sharp claws absent-mindedly. He only heard small fragments of the sounds around him as he stared out the window of the Throne Room.

"We could... dig from underground... knocking out... bind her..."

His right hand koopa, Chief Magikoopa Kamek, was animatedly describing his most recent plan to capture the Princess and her kingdom. However, Bowser's attention was drawn to a small barred window in the dungeons, which could be viewed from the large window by his throne. A dim light flickered through the bars, and rather loud arguing could be heard from the miserable confinement.

"Bring her here...ransom..."

"Kamek, how long have the Koopalings been down there?" King Koopa asked, still not looking at the magikoopa.

Kamek adjusted his glasses slightly, and sniffed, rather annoyed at being so rudely interrupted, "The Koopalings, sire?"

"Yes. What did you think I said?"

"Oh, I never said I did not _know_, your vileness. I was just wondering why you would ask-"

"Just answer me."

Kamek swallowed his words and looked up, "Thirteen months, Sir."

"Ah. Let them out."

"Let them out? You said yourself that you never wanted to see their ugly, useless-"

"Do -not- question my judgment, Kamek, or you'll be taking their place!" the King shouted, losing his patience with the shivering koopa standing in his shadow, "Release them from their cell. I demand they come to me, I need to speak with them..."

Kamek reluctantly bowed, "As you wish..." and promptly disappeared into thin air.

"Papa? Why are you letting _them_ back out?" Bowser Jr. whined, frowning, "Why can't they just stay there?"

"Junior, sometimes you just have to use people to your advantage, rule number _one_ in my books. Remember that," Bowser said, looking down at his son with cold eyes. "Now shut up."

Junior scowled, being sure not to do so while his father was looking, and plopped back down into his seat, waiting eagerly for the koopalings to arrive. He couldn't wait until they showed up, who knows what torture his father would force them to endure. The small koopa giggled in delight at the prospect of torture, while Kamek rounded the corner.

"The koopalings are present, your gruesomeness," he said with another sweeping bow, and the seven koopalings stumbled into the room.

"So..." Bowser began, rising out of his chair to his full height, bathing them in his dark shadow, "Do you think you've done enough time?"

They remained silent, half out of fear of speaking, half out of not knowing what to say to the big hulking monster that was their father. Finally, Ludwig stepped forward, being the most intelligent of the group, and quietly said the best answer he could come up with, "Yes, Father, we believe that we have received the adequate amount of punishment for our actions..."

"What if I said you didn't?"

"What?" Lemmy squeaked, "Thirteen months wasn't enough for him?" he whispered.

"What if I said you could avoid going down there again if you helped me out _properly_ this time. No screw ups," the King said, eyeing each of them dangerously, "No failure, or you get more than the dungeons this time..." he said, making a quick jerking hand gesture across his throat. They nodded vigorously, knowing that refusal would land them in the dungeons again, and next time, they might not get out.

Junior growled in disappointment, he was hoping to see some heads roll. _Maybe if I can get them to screw up..._

"We think that is wonderful proposition, father." Ludwig said, nodding his head in co-ordination with his six siblings, "We accept."

"Agreed. Now, instead of splitting you up like countless times before, you'll team up. Mario can't possibly go up against eight koopas and a tank, can he?" Bowser asked, leaning down towards the koopalings, a oothy grin on his reptilian lips.

"Eight?" Wendy said, perplexed, "Daddy, there's seven of us, learn to count."

"Junior will be joining you as well, he managed to be quite a problem for Mario earlier, with the eight of you, we can finally win!"

Wendy looked to Bowser's right and saw Junior. She scowled at him, and he stuck his tongue out at her, mouthing dirty words at her and the other six koopas. A long silence followed, containing a series of glares being exchanged between both parties.

"I get it. Like an army!" Morton bellowed, pounding one fist into the palm of his hand, "We get to kick Mario's ass and take the kingdom!"

"Way to go, brainiac. You figured out that one a lot quicker than I expected," Roy spat, elbowing Morton hard in the ribs, "That's for thinking!"

"Now now boys, I'd save all that violence for the Marios," Bowser said in a mock-motherly tone, "Get up to bed now, all of you, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow!" he smirked.

"For it will be the downfall of the Mushroom Kingdom!"

"Wow. Wow wow wow wow woah."

"You said it."

The mountain of treasure towered before the two men, who stood in its strangely satisfying shadow, nearly drooling at the wealth before them. The short, fat one babbled on and on, staring at the sparkling gold. While the much taller, skinnier one merely stood back and admired it, avoiding babbling like a fool.

"Oh yessssss!" Wario yelled, nearly diving into the massive pile of coins, "Yes yes yes! This should buy me at least four castles!"

"Only you? Excuse me, _I'm_ the one who got us in!" Waluigi snarled, leaning down and pointing at Wario accusingly, "I say I get at LEAST 50"

"45," Wario said, sneering at his brother.

"50"

"30"

"25!" Waluigi said, trying to keep his face straight, and serious.

"60!"

"Deal!" Waluigi shrieked, thrusting his hand into Wario's and forcing a handshake. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Wah?" Wario felt as if he'd been tricked, but shrugged it off, he couldn't thing straight when he was surrounded by more treasure he'd seen in his life.

"Now, we need ta figure out a way to get alla this outta here!" Wario said, grabbing coins and stuffing them into his pockets, his shoes, even his shirt (although most of the room was already taken up.)

Waluigi sighed, and dropped the empty sack he had been carrying for just such an occasion. He began to fill it with the treasure, watching Wario bounce around with the coins in his shoes and pockets flying in varioud directions.

"Hey, brainless," Waluigi called out, holding up the sack, and shook it back and forth, "looking for this?"

Wario bounced over to Waluigi and joyously began emptying his pockets and shoes into the sack, "Who'd be dumb enough ta leave all this here, when I'm around?" he laughed.

"Eh, let's hurry up and leave. I don't like it here much. I'll bet there's traps and stuff."

"Ah, quit your worryin'. There's nothing for miles, this dingy old mansion's deserted. Don't be stupid," the stout man said, letting the coins fall from his hands and into the overflowing sack.

"_Nobody here, huh?"_ an eerie voice echoed off the mansion walls, making the two plumbers go rigid with fright, "_Hah, you can't be too smart can you now?" _

"Who's there?"

"_Just someone here to teach you a lesson..._"

"What'll you...do..."

"_Ever wondered what it's like to be a ghost?"_


	3. Chapter Three: Wrong Pipe

**Chapter 3: Wrong Pipe**

"What d'ya mean?" Wario bellowed to their unseen visitor, "'Ever wondered what it's like ta be a ghost,' what a load of bull. You'd better get out here so we can give you a good smack fer bein' so stupid!"

_"Teehee! I'd say you're the one who needs a smack then. Two, even!"_ the voice giggled girlishly.

"Wario, shut up!" Waluigi said, smacking his brother on the back of the head, "I don't want to get in a fight with something I can't see. Use your brain! Or whatever you have in that big head of yours..." he mumbled, desperately trying to see where the disembodied voice was coming from.

_"Hohoho, you have them, mistress!"_ came another voice. This one was deeper and aged, much different than the high pitched voice from earlier.

"Damn it, there's more than one!" Wario cried, hastily running to the doors, and motioning for Waluigi to follow.

_"Aw come on, we wouldn't let you go _that_ easily! You are our guest after all. We aren't that rude!"_ came the high voice again.

The large doors they had entered through slammed shut with a more than audible "BAM!" and the room had fallen into complete darkness.

An eerie pale green glow was cast on the brothers from above, and they snapped thier heads up to see where it came from. What they saw made them cry out and scramble to the door, which was still closed. The green glow hovered closer to them, cornering them against the wall, and the high pitched laugh sounded once more.

_"It's impossible to escape now! LUNCH TIME, BOYS!"_

From the high cathedral ceiling came a multitude of round glowing sphere, all screeching and giggling, and not to mention arguing about who got to eat what.

_"I call the fat one!"_ one shrieked, giggling profusely.

_"You can't, like, eat the whole thing! You get, like, a leg! From the other one!"_ another said, bouncing on top of the first and laughing.

_"The other doesn't even have any meat on 'im! Let's just..uh... mix 'n match 'em! That's all fair, I say!"_

Wario and Waluigi were shaking like leaves, grabbing onto each other and screaming at the orbs to go away and pleading not to eat them.

_"Oh, you don't want to be eaten?"_ the pale green one said, surprised. At that point, it seemed to grow a mouth, a large grinning one, with two sharp fangs and a long pink tongue. It descended on the two men, threatening to swallow them whole. The many other orbs in the room chanted and whooped, waiting for their leader to eat them whole. Suddenly, the voices stopped as the green one's mouth stopped a few inches from their faces.

_"Well, Okay then."_

Their eyes snapped open to see a boo floating a few inches from their faces. It was a pale green, with two dark eyes and red bows on either side of its head.

"BOO!" it screeched, sending the duo flipping backwards onto the floor in shock, "Teehee! You should have seen the looks on your faces!" it giggled, pointing a fin-like arm at them.

"What the heck? A Boo!" Wario said, blinking a few times.

"Not 'A Boo'! My _name is_ Lady Bow of Boo Mansion, (which you've rudely trespassed on, by the way) understand, tub of lard?" the Boo said, raising a fan to Wario's face.

She was answered by vigorous nodding on Wario's part.

"You too, walking broomstick."

Waluigi sneered, "Whatever."

"Hey, weren't you gonna eat us?" Wario asked, receiving a sharp elbow in the ribs from Waluigi for reminding the Boos of their original intention.

"I'm afraid not. Human Intolerant," she said simply, "So we help out people who get lost in Forever Forest. However... You don't look lost to me..." she said, eyeing them suspiciously, "Thieves?"

"No, no, no, we're definitely lost. Lost, yeah, lost." Waluigi babbled nervously under the ghost's gaze.

Wario, who had strayed from the conversation, let out a strangled yelp, "Where's alla da gold?"

"Fake. Us Boos love tricking people, and we know you loved treasure!" Bow laughed, "But you'd better get out of here before night falls, Forever Forest is really..." she trailed off.

"Really?"

"REALLY SPOOKY!" Bow screamed, jumping out and baring her fangs at the both of them, sending them reeling backward, "Sorry, I do that a lot," she said, beaming at the fallen duo, "BOOTLER!"

A mustachioed boo materialized next to her, "Yes, my Lady?"

"Escort these two back to Toad Town, will you? I'd rather be rid of them before sunset."

"As you wish..." Bootler said, smashing into both Wario and Waluigi, sending them onto their feet and out the door.

Toad had managed to overcome his silverware episode, and was marching down to the Marios' house for tea with the Princesses Peach and Daisy, and Mario and Luigi themselves.

Trying his best to avoid the eyes of the flowers and trees (they always made him feel uncomfortable, watching him like that) he skipped down the path to the conveniently placed Warp Pipe to the Mario residence. He was humming a well known song quietly to himself, minding his own business, when he bumped into someone, who had apparently been running, and he was knocked off his feet, as was the person who had run into him.

"Brrr..." the figure moaned.

Once Toad's eyesight came back into focus, he saw a pink dinosaur creature sitting in the cobblestone path, seemingly crying. It had a strange suction- looking snout and a red bow on its head. It seemed to be crying over the cracked egg in its hands, turning it over to inspect whether any further damage had been done.

"Aw, Birdo!" Toad said, scrambling to his feet and kneeling down beside the dinosaur, "I'm sorry! Think it'll be okay?"

Birdo made a strange honking noise, she didn't know how to speak very well yet, but Yoshi was attempting to teach her. So far, he had managed to teach her how to say "Yes", "No" and "Duck" although Toad didn't quite understand why she'd need to know how to say that.

She managed a squeaky, "No," and pointed to the crack it had gained from its quick trip to the ground.

"Aw, wanna come with me and get it fixed? I'm heading down to the Marios right now, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you joined us."

"Yes!" the hot pink creature yelped, hopping to her feet and hop-skipping alongside the mushroom boy.

They walked down the path a while longer, before coming to the thing they were looking for. A long, shining green pipe towered over them, with a plaque that had the family name, Mario printed on it in gold lettering.

"C'mon Birdo, let's go in!" Toad said, jumping onto the blocks next to the pipe and motioning for her to come up as well.

Birdo looked at her egg, clutched it tightly to her chest and leapt straight up to the top of the pipe, turning back and smiling (if possible) at Toad, who stood speechless behind her. He never knew she could jump that high. She gave him one last wink and disappeared into the depths of the pipe

"...Or just jump straight down..." he muttered, before leaping down the pipe himself. He rushed downwards at such a speed that it felt like he was being ripped in two, and both halves of his body were being pulled on mercilessly, but he felt no pain at all. Warp Pipes did that to you, and you had some serious lag afterwards for a minute or so, but it was the best way to travel long distances in a matter of seconds.

Toad was spit out of the pipe, which retracted back into the ceiling it was hanging from.

Ceiling? The end of the Mario Pipe was _outdoors_. Why was there a ceiling?

It was then that Toad realized that not only had they used the wrong pipe, it was the worst possible one.

"Hey, wimp! Nice of you to DROP IN!" came a high, juvenile voice, giggling at the boy's misfortune. "It's not every day a side dish drops right in at dinnertime!" As the after-pipe lag wore off, Toad was able to make out a green spiked shell and a small ponytail of red hair.

He was in Bowser's Keep.


	4. Chapter Four: Terrors at Teatime

**Chapter 4: Terrors at Teatime**

"PAPA! We've got company!" the young koopa screamed at such a high pitch that Toad and Birdo winced, "So..." he turned to them, a telltale smirk on his little snout, "How's life?"

"Uhhm..." Toad began, not really knowing what to say to the son of his kingdom's arch-nemesis, "Good, considering the circumstances..."

Junior laughed, "Won't stay that way for long. How long do you think you'll stay here? Three days? Four?" he said, looking at Toad from the corner of his eye, "Nah, try the rest of your life!" the koopa giggled, enjoying the slight panic on the mushroom boy's face.

A low moaning sounded from the corner of the cell, and Toad turned to see Birdo picking up her egg and cradling it in her arms. It was in a worse condition than it had been before they fell down the pipe, and Toad could make out something black and shiny inside it.

"Why'd you bring the freak along?" Bowser Jr. scoffed, cocking his head in Birdo's direction, "We don't want her."

"What do you want with -me- then?" Toad spat.

"Isn't it obvious? You're the bait!" Junior chuckled, "Mario and the other losers will come for you, and we'll catch 'em. They'll be here with you, and Daddy's gonna go steal your princess and-"

"Idiot!" came a booming voice from around the corner, "Don't give away our plans, you fool!"

Toad identified the voice as the King Koopa, Bowser. And he was proven correct when the hulking monster rounded the corner, glaring at his son. Junior stepped down, lowering his head and taking his place behind his father, and proceeded to make faces at the back of his father's spiked shell.

Bowser straightened up and looked down on his prisoners, with a smile of ill-intentions plastered on his face, "You might want to look before you leap next time, fungus. Wouldn't want to get the wrong pipe, would you?"

"You know as well as I do that you tricked us!"

"Of course I do, which is what makes it so satisfying," Bowser said, leaning down and flashing a toothy grin, "It's not my fault you're horrendously stupid."

Toad resisted the urge to slap the koopa across his huge, scaly face, knowing that actually doing so would shorten his life significantly. Instead, he pouted and turned on his heel, stomping to the back of his cell and plopping onto a stinky, old cot.

"Whatever, you never win anyway, what makes you think you'll win this time?" he huffed, glaring at the King from the shadows.

"Ah, I don't think I will win. I _know _I will..." Bowser said. He turned to the koopa who was standing guard, "Make sure none enter the dungeons apart from myself. Understand?" the King said to him sternly, pointing a clawed finger at him.

The koopa nodded and saluted shakily.

"Sleep as well as you can, Fungus Boy. We won't be making you more comfortable here," Koopa said coldly, ascending the stairs from the dungeons, Bowser Jr. hot on his heels.

Toad rested his head on the stained and smelly old pillow, trying hard not to let his tears fall.

What if Bowser did succeed in his plan. He'd still be stuck in Bowser's Castle, along with the kingdom's only defense. They might even be killed. The princess would be gone, forced to remain with Bowser forever, because Mario wouldn't be there to save her.

If Mario and Luigi didn't come, they wouldn't be caught by Bowser, naturally. But there was a downside, if Mario and Luigi didn't come, he and Birdo would be trapped there forever. It was a lose-lose situation.

Unless they escaped...

Toad was suddenly struck with an idea and leapt out of the bed, dashing to the other side of the cell.

"Birdo, I have an idea!"

Princess Peach twisted the edge of the tablecloth in anxiety, they had been waiting almost two hours, and Toad still hadn't come. The Warp pipe was only a few blocks from the castle, and he shouldn't have had any trouble getting to Mario's House, considering he came on nearly a daily basis. She hoped he had only lost track of the time or had forgotten it altogether, even though the latter would have resulted in embarrassment on his part. It was still a better outcome than getting lost or hurt.

"They told me that he left an hour ago," Luigi said, setting the telephone back on the receiver and taking a seat at the table, which was neatly set out with tea and biscuits, still left untouched, "He didn't come back there, and they assume he's still on his way. Maybe he decided to walk?" he suggested, attempting to make light of the situation.

"Yeah, I'll bet that's what it is. He decided to walk here and enjoy the scenery. Your kingdom is rather beautiful, I don't blame him," Princess Daisy said, also trying to make an effort to cheer Peach up.

"Mario's gone to look for him, okay? Until then..." Luigi trailed off, trying to find a suitable way to pass the time, "How about golf?"

"I can't possibly play a game when my precious Toad is in trouble," the blonde princess sighed, shaking her head and declining the invitation.

"Tennis?"

"That's a game too, Luigi. Weren't you listening?" Daisy said through clenched teeth, elbowing him slightly, "Something else."

"Uhm, Mario Par- Oh. No games, right... Got it."

"I really should be out looking for him too," Peach said, rising from her seat and dusting herself off, even though her dress was spotless.

"Oh! We'll go with you!" Daisy exclaimed, jumping to her feet and dragging Luigi up with her, much to his surprise.

Once he regained his sense of balance, Luigi nodded, following them out the door and into the lush forest outside, "Yeah, you'll need escorts. Who knows what could happen out there, to someone all alone with nobody to protect them, or shout out before they get attacked by something, or-"

"But nothing like that would happen to someone all alone here anyway. It's perfectly _safe_" Daisy interrupted, afraid that Luigi's ramblings would upset the princess and make her worry even more about her little friend, "Isn't it, Luigi?"

"Oh yeah! Perfectly safe. Never been safer!"

Peach laughed slightly at their antics, despite the current events, and started on her way down the forest path, the Sarasaland Princess and one of the Super Mario Brothers in tow, now assuring her how safe and secure the Mushroom Kingdom is.

Mario had been searching high and low for the little Mushroom boy, in bushes, trees, houses, anywhere one could imagine.

"Mario!" called a feminine voice from down the path.

Mario perked up and whirled around, dropping the rock he had been looking under and rushing to the three figures that he had spotted down the path. "Hey!" he said, finally reaching them. "What're you all doing here? I thought you were going to wait back at the house?"

"Peach decided she should be looking too, so we followed her. You know, to make sure she doesn't get hurt or anything..." Luigi said, adjusting his hat.

Peach nodded, "Yes, that's why we're here. We are going to help you out. Toad can't be too far."

The foursome set off in search of their friend, through the deep, lush forest.

"Someone's gotta get that kid a cell phone..." Luigi muttered, before they disappeared into the forest, which had suddenly taken on a much darker, and more eerie atmosphere.


	5. Chapter Five: Forever Wander

**Chapter 5: Forever Wandering**

"Does the forest seem... different to you?" Peach asked the group trailing her.

The forest they had been hiking through had gradually changed for the worst. The bright, cheery greenery had seemingly vanished, and greyish- green toned leaves took their place. The branches of the trees twisted in nearly impossible angles, seemingly reaching out to grab them, but only brushing the sides of their arms instead. It was dark, and the twisted forms of the trees gave the illusion of menacing faces and figures. The leaves on the gnarled trees reached up to the sky, blocking out nearly all the light. A few patches of dim light told them that the sun had set, or was in the process of setting, and it would soon be even darker.

"Now that you mention it..." Mario began, nervously glancing at one of the menacing trees, "something seems slightly different."

"Really, what gave you that idea? Could it be the devilish trees? The overpowering darkness?" Luigi snapped. He _really _didn't like the dark, and Mario usually used this weakness to his advantage.

"No," Mario said, his voice trembling a bit, but not enough for anyone to take notice "It was actually that pair of red eyes right there."

"I'm not going to fall for that one again," Luigi sighed, rolling his eyes, "Really, you know I'm smarter than that!" Luigi kept walking, his eyes closed, and laughed. _I'm not that much of a wimp!_

He forced his eyes open when he heard Daisy gasp and give him a poke in the ribs, "What is i-" and stopped mid-sentence when he saw two glowing red eyes a foot from his face, which were attached to a glowing white sphere. Immediately, he knew what it was.

A Boo.

The Boo's long tongue rolled out of its fanged mouth, and the ghost let out a shrill laugh, "Hwaharar! BOO!" It shrieked, waving its fin-like arms at Luigi.

He didn't move.

"Come on, you idiot! Run!" the Boo screamed, "I'm a ghost! I am terrifying, I am your worst nightmare!"

Luigi still didn't move a muscle. He had dealt with ghosts, he was no longer afraid of them, and at the very least, was merely annoyed at its presence. Now all he needed was to overcome his other fears. but he sure as hell wasn't going into mansions full of them, no matter how beneficial to his health it might turn out to be.

He stared the ghost in the eye, "Are you finished?"

The Boo's gaze moved from Luigi to the three humans cowering behind him, and back to Luigi again. Oh! Was this the same man who had sucked up all his friends in that cursed vacuum? _Oh no, if I annoy him, I'll get the same!_ the Boo thought, panicking. He didn't really find being crammed inside a cleaning device a very favorable situation.

"Yeah, I think so," Boo answered, suddenly afraid.

"Get us out of here, now."

Was he serious? Boo searched his face for an answer. He _was_ serious.

Wait! Didn't Lady Bow want him? She had never specified why, but she had expressed her desire to have the younger brother brought for him. Revenge, perhaps, for all the boos he had captured? Either way, Boo was sure he'd be rewarded for his capture.

"Oh, yes..." Boo said, and motioned for the foursome to follow him, "This way to get to Bo- er, I mean out. To get out, yes…" The group followed Boo, somewhat reluctantly, into the dark forest that lay ahead.

"I don't think it's a great idea to trust a Boo to get us out..." Peach whispered, making sure that the leading specter didn't hear her.

"You have a better idea? It sure beats wandering around here for the rest of our lives," Daisy hissed.

"That's true..."

"Where is he leading us anyway?" Mario said quietly, "I mean, it seems darker than it was before, how do we know he isn't just leading us deeper in?"

"I trust the nasty thing, even if he is a Boo. I mean, they think going against _my_ wishes would probably land them a spot in a vacuum cleaner," came Luigi's hushed voice from up ahead, "I guess we'll see soon enough."

After nearly an hour of trekking through the pitch black forest, Boo stopped abruptly.

"Okay, you guys stay here, I'm going to go make sure it's safe down there, and I'll come back for you," he said, "Don't go anywhere until I come back!"

They nodded, and Boo floated off to 'make sure it was safe' which really meant 'go get Lady Bow and my reward.' After a minute or two, the huge mansion came into view, and what would have been Boo's heart raced with anticipation. He floated through the huge front doors, and entered the lobby. The massive residence was overflowing with boos, and had the same creepy atmosphere that most haunted houses had, along with traps and tricks, trademarks of the boos.

"I've got him! The green one!" Boo screeched, making all the boos in the lobby swirl around to look at the boo by the doors, raving like a lunatic, "He's a little way down the path, with a couple of princesses and the red one too!"

Boo's heart leapt when he saw Bow float down from the top floor. She stopped in front of him, with a questioning look on her face.

"So, you have him?"

"Yes, My Lady!" Boo said, nodding, "down the path."

"Show me."

"He sure is taking a long time..." Princess Peach said nervously.

"Okay, I agree with you on that one," Daisy said, sighing, "I bet he's just left us here to die, which is what's going to happen eventually anyway."

"Don't say that!" Luigi snapped, getting slightly irritated, but was getting a little anxious himself.

"Ah, here we go!" Mario said, when he spotted a glowing sphere floating towards them. He gasped when it was followed by another, and another, until they were surrounded by the glowing spheres. A pale green one stood out amongst all the white, and is descended upon them.

"Are you Luigi Mario?" it asked, in a high, yet intimidating voice.

Luigi nodded, shaking a bit, "Yeah..."

"Follow me..." the sphere asked them, and started to hover in the opposite direction.

"Let's consider our options..." Luigi began, "On one hand, we can follow a mysterious glowing thing that we know nothing about, and apparently wants me for something. OR we can stay here and die."

"Follow the bloody thing!" Daisy yelled, shoving the group after the mysterious orb.

"Hey! Look at that!" Wario said, jabbing a fat thumb to his left, "It's them!"

"Who?" Waluigi asked, squinting to get a better view. All he saw were blobs of green, red, pink and yellow.

"You know who! I told ya ta get some glasses, bro!" the stout man said, kicking Waluigi in the shin.

"Damn it, who is it?" Waluigi scowled, hoping on one foot and still trying to make out what was in the darkness.

"Agh!" Wario grunted, throwing his hands up, "Mario, Luigi and those whiny princesses!"

"Ah yeah. I knew that."

"Let's get 'em!" Wario suggested, rolling up his sleeves, "And beat 'em so bad they'll be suckin' steak through a straw!"

Waluigi leapt forward, stopping Wario, "No, that's a bad idea, Lard Head. Look!"

He pointed a bony finger to the numerous white luminous spheres surrounding the foursome, "Boos. And lots of them. They'll do the job for us!" Wario frowned, "Ahh! We've gotta stop 'em!" he yelled, rushing out of the trees and towards them, who were seemingly being crept up on from behind.

"What? Why?"

"Can't let them have all the fun of beating the crap outta them!"

"Good point." said Waluigi, following Wario's lead.

The boos scattered when the duo came charging at them, yelling like strangled dinosaurs. Boos, despite being ghosts, were spooked by sudden and loud sounds. And Wario and Waluigi demonstrated the most sudden and loud sounds that could possibly be made by a human, and sent the ghosts away as fast as possible. The light shifted in strange patterns all around them as the glowing spheres scattered and disappeared from view, leaving the group in the heart of Forever Forest, the light fading fast.

"What do you think you're doing, you idiots?" Daisy said, standing in front of the others, hands on her hips. 

"We saved your lives, morons!" Wario bellowed, pointing an accusing finger at Princess Daisy, "And then bit our heads off for it! You're lucky I haven't pounded ya, ya little witch!"

Shocked, Daisy opened her mouth to yell again, but was stopped before she could even say anything.

"What do you mean saving us? The BOOS were saving us!" Peach snapped, pointing at Wario and Waluigi, "You scared them off! Now we have no hope of getting out of here!"

"They were?"

"I think so."

"Ah, I bet they weren't," Waluigi said, waving a hand submissively, "They wanted to eat you, I'll wager. Or capture you. Or something like that."

"Do you know the way out?" Mario asked, hoping that they could finally get out of the forest.

"Nope."

"Well, you're going to find it!" Daisy said determinedly, "You got us into this mess, and you're getting us out of it."

"Okay, cannons loaded?"

"Check!" came Morton's reply, as he stuffed the last bit of Junior's tail into the cannon.

"Get him out of there and get a cannon ball, you fool," Bowser said, glaring at his son.

"I seriously didn't know he was in there..." Morton muttered between snickering fits, and trotted off in search of some real ammunition.

Junior pulled his blackened body out of the cannon and scowled, "Why did we have to bring them along Daddy? They're nasty little turds!"

"Shut up."

Junior stuck his tongue out at his father, who had moved on to check the tank in the airship's hold. The plan was simple. They were to attack the Mushroom Kingdom, and secretly deploy the tank, with Bowser's eight children inside. They'd crash through the wall of the palace (a dramatic entrance is needed in such times of vileness, according to the Koopa King) and capture the princess. If they came across Mario, they had the option of teaming up and attacking him directly, or using the tank to blast him. Either way, they won.

"Okay, we're casting off!" came the booming voice of the King, "Ready yourselves, the Mushroom Kingdom's going down!" he laughed, and was backed up by the cheering of his children and his army, and the airship sailed off into the crimson skies, prepared for a war they couldn't possibly lose.


	6. Chapter Six: It's War

Chapter 6: It's War

"Come on, please let me break it?"

Birdo let out a squeak of protest, shielding the egg with her body. She glared at the mushroom boy before her. How dare he suggest such a thing?

"Seriously, Birdo!" Toad sighed in exhaustion, "I've already explained this. The egg has an item inside that can help us escape this stupid place" he said in a hushed voice, to ensure that the guard did not overhear them. But he was dozing quietly across the hallway, completely oblivious to the escape plan being cooked up right under his nose.

The pink creature growled deeply in her throat, and thrust the egg outward, turning her head away from Toad, who excitedly grabbed the egg from her, apologizing while he did so, "Sorry Birdo," he said, "but it has to be done."

Toad turned the egg over in his hands, taking a look at the crack that nearly ran the full length by now. He bit down on his lip and smashed it onto the stone floor with all the strength he possessed. But it hadn't changed at all. He let out a frustrated grunt and thrust it against the stone again, but his effort was in vain, for it still remained unscathed. The mushroom boy then took the opportunity to smack it on the wall several times, but he still got the same result.

"Birdo, what's up with this thing? Is it made of steel or something?"

Birdo made a low chuckle and took the egg from the boy's hands. Hesitantly, she picked up a sharp stone off the floor and wedged in into the crack. Then she hammered on its blunt side with her fist, driving it into the egg and making the crack run further across it. Birdo sighed and pried the mutilated egg open with her makeshift lever, and handed what was left back to Toad.

He tore into it like a present on Christmas day, tearing the tough shell away from the round, black object that was held within. His eyes widened when he saw what it was.

It was just what he had hoped for.

"The Mushroom Kingdom is in sight, sir!" Kamek squealed excitedly, hopping from one foot to the other in excitement.

"Yeah, I got it," the king said, turning around from the front of his airship to face the army that stood at attention along the length of the ship. Each koopa was armed to the teeth with weaponry. Bullet Bills, Super Scopes, Bob-Ombs, you name it, they had it. The ship had enough firepower to blast The Mushroom Kingdom to pieces.

"Hear this, you bumbling fools!" he bellowed, causing every soldier to stiffen up in fear, "This is it. The moment we've been waiting for: The fall of the Mushroom Kingdom. You are going to make it happen. You go down there, and show no mercy. We've been mercilessly slaughtered by those mushroom freaks for years, and it's time to take those lives back! Do whatever it takes for our revenge. Show no hesitation to bring them to their knees!

However, leave Mario and the others for me..."

Bowser took a long pause in his speech, looking over the land that would be his new kingdom. No more days in the dark. No more being forced to breathe the thick, smoky air. No more Koopa Kingdom.

Bowser found himself smirking, then chuckling, before he let himself go in a loud, roaring laugh that sent a shiver through each koopa's shell, "Now _go_!" he bellowed, pointing a clawed finger in the direction of the nearing Mushroom Castle, "and fulfill our destiny!"

The whole ship roared in rage as they landed on the fertile soil of the Mushroom Kingdom, just outside the gates of Toad Town. The thousands of koopas charged through them, and into the shocked town of mushroom people before them, yelling and spouting battle cries. They flowed through the streets like vermin, capturing villagers, smashing windows, and they showed no mercy to what were now the damned. The cries of pain and helplessness floated up to level of the Koopa King, and he smiled. It was music to his ears.

The Koopalings stood on the bow of the ship, observing the chaos. Iggy coughed loudly, trying to get his siblings' attention, "Okay guys, it's time to go."

Junior came bounding along the ship's deck, having finally escaped being locked in the ship's hold (by none other than the koopalings themselves) panting and cursing at his half-siblings. He walked up beside them, being careful to thump his foot down on Larry's tail, "Okay you filthy, useless excuses for koopas," he sneered, "let's go blast these vegetables to kingdom come."

The Koopalings grudgingly followed Bowser Jr. below deck, where the Koopa Tank was being held. They didn't want to work with him, but they'd have to if they wanted to keep thier heads, they had decided. Junior himself had other plans. He didn't run the risk of becoming Bowser's personal punching bag, and was determined to have the Koopalings suffer that fate. He snickered gleefully as he took a gunner seat of the tank, prepared to blast everything and anything that came between them and the Princess. Ludwig sat to the left of him, taking the responsibility of maneuvering the hulking mass of steel to the castle's back garden.

"Let's go get King Dad his Princess," Wendy said, sitting back in her seat and sounding a high pitched laugh, which caused Roy (who was unfortunate enough to sit beside her) wince as the pitch of her voice soared in and out of audible range.

Ludwig sighed and eased on the gas pedal, driving the tank forward and out of the hatch at the rear of the ship. Once on solid ground, they proceeded towards the castle gates, crushing everything in their way.

"Hey, watch it! Don't want to damage our new kingdom _too_ much, brainless!" Morton growled, leaning over his brother's shoulder.

"Don't speak to me, or criticize my driving abilities, you ignoramus," Ludwig spat, narrowing his eyes and trying very hard to focus on driving the tank properly.

Morton laughed, "Okay, okay. There's no need to go all PMS-y on me!"

Ludwig snapped his head to scold his brother, "Now see here you-"

CRASH!

"Nice job, idiot! You ran us into a wall!"

"I have every right to 'criticize your driving abilities' now!"

"Oh of all the lousy..."

Ludwig snorted, "if it weren't for this bumbling fool here, we wouldn't have crashed!" he said, hitting Morton soundly on the head.

"Oh yeah! Well I oughta-"

"Shut up!" Lemmy hissed, clapping a paw over Morton's mouth, "You want the Princess to hear us coming? Huh? Ever thought of that?" he snarled, taking his paw off Morton's mouth, "Keep your oversized pie hole shut."

Morton would have given Lemmy a sound beating if it weren't for the loud crashing coming from the engine of the tank, "What the hell?" he said in a hushed voice, and left to investigate. He opened the hatch and popped up, looking for whatever was making the noise.

He spotted Bowser Junior's tail end sticking out from under the engine's hood, and scoffed, "What're you doin' maggot?"

"Fixing the engine, what's it look like?" came Junior's muffled voice, which was suddenly drowned out by the humming and sputtering of the, now functioning, engine.

"There we go!" Junior laughed, hopping out from underneath the hood, covered in oil and grease from the engine, "Good thing I know how to work these things, huh?" he asked smugly, attempting to prove that's he was more useful than he looked.

Morton just grunted and told him to get back in the tank and help finish the job, which he obeyed, much to his own surprise.

"This time, I'M driving this thing," Wendy said, narrowing her eyes at the others, daring them to oppose her. However, none did, and she took her seat at the front.

After a half hour of reckless driving through the streets of Toad Town, they reached the castle gates.

Junior giggled, this was his cue. He mashed his fist down on the firing button in front of him, setting off the cannon and blasting the gates to pieces. They proceeded through the gates, crashing through the hedge maze, and coming up to the front doors of the castle. They spotted the stained- glass window of the Princess herself above the doors, and had great fun watching it shatter upon impact with the bullet bill.

The entire wall of the castle was strewn about the gardens in several pieces within seconds, and the tank came crashing through the castle at top speed, destroying everything in its path. The mushroom retainers scattered once they spotted the huge machine, but the koopas paid them no mind. It was the Princess they were after.

They smashed through one final wall, crashing into the throne room. The hatch of the tank was thrown open and Roy's head popped out.

"Knock knock!" he laughed insanely, scanning the room for any sign of life.

There was none.

"What the- Where's the Princess?" he bellowed, lifting up his sunglasses to get a better view. "Damn it! Guys, she isn't here!"

"What?" came the enraged voices from below, and there was a mad scramble to the hatch to see whether or not Roy was telling the truth.

"Holy-" Lemmy said, "He's right!"

"Oh no, Daddy's gonna have us cooked!" Wendy whined, sniffling, "We're dead!"

Bowser Junior smirked triumphantly. They had no chance now. Bowser would use them for target practice after this stunt. But, he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for them...

_What're you thinking, Junior! They're nasty little brats who'd want you dead, no doubt,_ he thought, mentally kicking himself twice. _Your enemies, yeah... _

"So, I vote Junior's the one to tell 'im."

"Agreed."

Bowser Jr. growled, "How come I've gotta do it? You're the screw ups, not me!"

"Ah," Ludwig began, "But we have a bad record, and you do not. If one of us were to tell him the news, he would ram our heads into a wall. But if you were to, he wouldn't harm you... as much... and we would get off clean. Uhm, well, we would still receive punishment, if that's what you want..." he said, hoping that Junior would do the job, which would let them get off easier.

Junior sniffed, "No way!"

Roy and Morton looked at one another and nodded. They advanced on the smaller koopa.

"Let's put it this way..."

"If you don't listen to us..."

"You'll definitely be.."

"Flat as a pancake."

Junior glared at them, but was secretly afraid. He was outnumbered seven to one, and his odds of surviving a violent encounter with his siblings were very slim. So he nodded, reluctantly agreeing.

"Glad you see things our way. Now head back to the ship and tell him what happened."

Junior growled and stalked back to the tank, muttering death threats under his breath.


	7. Chapter Seven: Yoshi's Message

Chapter 7: Yoshi's Message

Yoshi sat atop his hut, trying desperately to get a better view of the oncoming figure in the distance. He had spotted something in the sky earlier, and as it came nearer, he was able to get a clearer picture of the figure in the darkened sky. He squinted, attempting to get a better focus.

What he saw sent him reeling backward and tumbling down the side of the roof, onto the soft grass, where he peered out from under the tropical leaves. It was a massive ship. It was as long as the length of his island, and the hull of the ship was as deep as the ocean surrounding it. In other words, huge. It's enormous wings flapped gracefully, carrying the large doom-bringer across the sky, casting Yoshi's Island in its shadow. Alongside it were several smaller ships, dotting the sky with their silhouettes.

Yoshi's eyes widened, and he let out a strangled yelp. He had seen a ship like these before, many years ago in the Third War . It had moved across the Mushroom Kingdom, annihilating everything in its path. It had nearly destroyed half of the beautiful kingdom alone, but now there were more. More ships, which meant more danger, more bloodshed than ever before. And it looked as if Bowser was going all out this time.

He had to go warn the Princess.

Yoshi scrambled out of the underbrush, racing to the nearest warp pipe to Toad Town, where the Princess' Castle was located. He gulped and threw himself into it, rushing at top speed towards the kingdom. Even though it was miles away, he reached it in mere minutes, and dashed out of the pipe, shoving various mushroom people out of his way, and muttering forced apologies.

He reached the closed castle gates, and cried out to the guard nearby,"Yoshi has bad news! Yoshi must see the Princess immediately!"

The guard was jolted awake, and slowly got up to speak to the distressed dinosaur. He stood in front of the golden gate, with Yoshi on the other side, and spoke sleepily, "Sorry buddy but you can't just waltz in and expect to see her."

"What? Yoshi's a friend of the Princess!"

"Got any proof?"

"No..."

"There you go, no entry, lizard."

"But I-"

"Nope. Besides, she isn't here. She left for tea with the Mario Brothers and Princess Daisy. At the Marios' "

Yoshi groaned, "Why didn't you tell Yoshi that in the first place?" he muttered, before turning tail and walking off to the Mario residence.

Upon reaching the house, he couldn't help but notice the lack of Princess. Or lack of anyone for that matter.

Where had they gone?

The table sat in the middle of the sitting room, perfectly set, with the tea from the previously planned tea party. But Yoshi found it strange how everything was left untouched, and the tea had since gone stone cold. The dinosaur licked his lips with his long tongue and resisted the urge to down everything on the table in seconds flat. However, Yoshi's stomach got the best of him and the biscuits, cakes and cold tea had a new home in his stomach.

"Mario?" he called through the empty house, "Princess Peach?" he said, running though the house as fast as he could, "Mister Luigi? Princess Daisy?"

The dinosaur sighed when he received no response. He sat down on the nearest piece of furniture, which happened to be Luigi's bed, and let out a frustrated growl. How could he tell them about the airships when they weren't around?

Yoshi's eyes began to wander around the room, for he had the attention span of a gnat. He looked around Luigi's room, which was very tidy, and studied the various things strewn about, albeit in a strangely organized manner. There were various books, a vacuum, pictures, and a note on his desk.

The note seemed very interesting to the lizard, and he picked it up off the carefully dusted desk. Yoshi was taught to read by Mario when he was younger, and knew simple words, as well as ones that even Mario himself could not pronounce. He cocked his head curiously and read the neat handwriting of Luigi out loud.

"Toad,

If you manage to reach the house before we return, please help yourself to some tea and wait for us. We've gone into the forest to look for you. If you are reading this, stay here. We'll come back soon enough.

-Luigi"

It seemed that Luigi had scrawled the note and had forgotten to tack it onto the door, as one would do in such a situation. Yoshi sighed, Luigi was so absent-minded. But at least now, he knew where they might be.

So the dinosaur left to search for them in the forest nearby, but not before tacking the note to the door in case Toad did come by.

"Did you hear that?" Waluigi said suddenly, stopping in his tracks, causing Daisy to bump into his back, and the rest to stop in their tracks.

"Hear what?" Daisy mumbled into his shoulder, and pushed herself off him. She was regretting bringing Waluigi and his brother along, they had been nothing but a nuisance. The decided to take every opportunity to scare each of them out of their wits, stop to laugh, and repeat the process. But it was partially their fault for being so jumpy in the first place.

"That sound!"

"Don't be stupid, you've pulled that one three times already! We won't fall for it again!"

Waluigi snarled and rounded on Daisy, who took a step backwards from him to avoid being pummeled by the lanky man, "Listen! I really heard something!"

She merely sniffed and crossed her arms, "Fine then, what was it?"

"I don't know, that's why I asked!"

"But we didn't even hear it!"

"Oh, will you shut up!" Luigi snapped, turning to the two, "Seriously, you're bickering like a married couple!" he said, and immediately regretted it, "Ugh, what a bad thought," he muttered, shaking his head. Luckily, his statement had succeeded in shutting them up.

Mario chuckled slightly, but stopped suddenly, causing the others to bump into him, "Hey what the hell are ya doin?" Wario's voice shrieked, after carefully picking himself up off the ground.

"Did you hear that?" Mario said.

A frustrated groan sounded from the back of the group after this had been said, which could easily be identified as Luigi.

"No, I'm serious. I really heard something."

Waluigi smirked, "What did I tell you, witch?" he said to Daisy, who promptly smacked him.

Mario's eyes darted around the forest, but they saw nothing. It was so dark that they could barely make out who was who in the darkness.

They all went silent when the aforementioned noise sounded again, very close. It seemed to be a rustling in the bushes, but the creature that made these sounds had to be large. It was most surely not a fuzzy, who took up residence in the Forever Forest, or a goomba, for sure.

The group of six trembled, and huddled closer together against their will, but stayed frozen in place as the rustling grew nearer and was accompanied by the panting and growling of a creature.

"What is that?" Peach whispered to Mario, who was standing very close to her, for protection. He covered her mouth after she spoke, signaling her to keep quiet. Maybe if they kept quiet enough, it would go away.

The rustling came nearer, and they could now see the bushes swaying back and forth beside Waluigi, who stiffened up and tried to edge away from the bushes.

Suddenly, a green blur streaked forward, pinning Princess Peach to the ground. She gasped as she felt the weight of the creature on her chest, and tried desperately to push it off. In the darkness, nobody could see what happened, but only heard the Princess' stifled cries and the rustling of the leaves on the forest floor.

"Peach!" Mario cried, desperately trying to see what was going on before him. He wildly thrashed around, hoping to catch the attacker or at least deal him a blow. Slight relief washed over him as he grabbed a wrist in the darkness. He was completely sure it wasn't Peach, because the skin was tough and leathery, not soft and smooth as hers.

Mario wrenched the creature's wrist backward, pulling him off of the princess, and was answered with a squeaky, "Ow!"

"What?" Mario gasped, letting go of the attacker's wrist, "Yoshi?"

"Of course it's Yoshi!" came the dinosaur's voice, in a high pitch. He drew back his wrist from Mario, rubbing it and glaring at him.

"Why'd you attack Peach?" Mario yelled frantically, still in a panic.

"Yoshi had to make sure it was the Princess. Yoshi needed a closer look, Yoshi didn't hurt her, don't worry Mario. Yoshi had to grab her and check, if it were a Forever Forest monster, it would have attacked Yoshi!" he cried, "Yoshi had to take precautions! Better to attack first, than to wait and be attacked."

Mario shook his head and knelt down to help the Princess, who still lay gasping on the forest floor, "Whatever you say, Yoshi, just don't do that again..." however strange Yoshi's reasoning was, he'd have to accept it as an apology.

Once Peach was back on her feet again, she turned to Yoshi, "So that was you? God, Yoshi! You scared the life out of me!" she cried, near tears.

Yoshi looked crestfallen, "Yoshi is terribly sorry Princess..." he said, bowing slightly. He suddenly straightened up again, and let out a panicked yelp, "Oh! Princess! Yoshi has something important to tell you!" he cried, his little yoshi legs stomping on the spot frantically, as if he were performing a strange sort of dance.

Peach eyed the rest of the group, who were watching Yoshi intently. There was something in his voice that unsettled her. He seemed scared of something.

"Yes, Yoshi?"

"The sky! Ships! Bowser!" he cried frantically, waving his arms about, "Ships! Airships! Bowser's Airships! Coming this way, to the kingdom!"

A terrified silence washed over them all, as Yoshi's words began to sink in.

"Bowser's Ships?" Mario asked, "Are you sure?"

Yoshi nodded, sobbing, "Yes yes! Yoshi is sure of it! Just like the Third War, they've come to burn us!"

"Come to...burn? The Mushroom Kingdom?" Daisy gasped, raising a gloved hand to her mouth, "What are you going to do, Peach?"

The Princess didn't answer. She stood frozen in shock, the sudden realization kicking in. She wasn't there. She couldn't help her people because of this stupid forest. She was helpless, and could only watch as her kingdom burned to the ground, and the koopas rebuilt it in their image. She shuddered, managing a few words between gasping sobs.

"We... we have to go back."

Third War - Super Mario Bros 3


	8. Chapter Eight: Burning Rage

Chapter 8 – Burning Rage

The Koopa King's eyes burned with an intense rage as he glared down on his son, "What did you just say to me?" he growled, leaning down so his face was right in front of Junior's.

Bowser Jr. held his breath to avoid breathing in his father's sulfur like smell, "The Princess... She's gone..." he gasped out, wincing and preparing for the koopa's mighty wrath.

"She's... gone, you say," Koopa said calmly, straightening up again and glancing down at his son again. He tilted his head upward again and laughed, "Really, Princess, I'd expect something more cunning of you!" he said, to nobody in particular. He ceased his chuckling and rounded on Junior again, "Listen to me, search every part of the castle, and if you find nothing... burn it down."

Junior gaped at his father. Was he serious? After all these years, he'd just get rid of the thing he was after? Whether it be the Princess or her castle, it would be gone.

"But Dad... What if she's in there?"

"She'll come out. I'm sure she'd rather spend an eternity with me that being turned to ashes in a smoldering castle," Bowser said mater-of- factly, "And if she'd rather stay there, so be it. I'd have no use for a queen that isn't loyal to me."

Junior frowned. He hoped that the Princess wasn't really still there. Ever since Bowser had tricked him into thinking she was his mother, he'd felt a special bond with the princess, as if she really were. He smirked, hiding his true feelings, and saluted his father, "Can be done, sir!"

"Good lad," Bowser said gruffly, giving Junior a hard, yet friendly, slap on the shell, "Now, take the other seven fools, and search it from top to bottom, you hear me?"

Junior nodded and turned to leave. He skipped up the steps that lead to the ship's deck, and was stopped briefly halfway up by his father's voice.

"And if you find anything valuable, bring it to me."

"Search it? Damn, I wanna burn it first!" Larry groaned, once Bowser Junior had announced Bowser's news. He paced back and forth along the ship's deck, muttering to himself.

"That's what he said, direct orders to search. Bring anything we can find back, including the Princess, -then- incinerate it."

"No fair," Larry grunted, crossing his arms, "Guess we'd better get it over with, eh?"

He was answered by Junior's nodding, "Yeah."

Lemmy sighed next to them, "Well, we'd better get a move on," he said, lightly hopping over the guardrail of the ship and onto the earth below, "Come on, guys."

The other seven koopas followed suit, and were soon in front of what was left of the castle.

Ludwig paced back and forth in front of the koopas, assigning them each to a different floor, "You're ground floor, east wing. You can the west, okay then? And Lar-Larry! Don't point that at me! You've got the basement. That wiped that smirk off you face, eh? You have the towers, you have the..."

After the tedious assigning of their different areas, which was delayed by several smart-aleck comments on Ludwig's hair, the seven koopas split their separate ways to search the castle for valuables, and the princess. After a few hours they had found nothing, save for the many gold coins they found in the treasury.

"You're sure? You checked every room?"

Wendy nodded, "Affirmative. Every single one."

"Then let's go..."

"What do you mean? Go back? How do you expect us to do that, your highness?" Waluigi asked, sneering, "You're stuck in this stupid place, and expect to be able to return before Bowser incinerates your kingdom? How stupid are you, exactly?"

"I don't know. We...we just have to get back, before it's too late..." Peach whispered, deep in thought. What was she going to do? She was trapped in Forever Forest, awaiting the death of her kingdom, and could do nothing about it. She had no army, no defense, save for Mario, whom was trapped in the forest as well.

"Yoshi could show you the way back..." Yoshi began, but wasn't completely sure of himself. He had a vague sense of direction, and could tell that Toad Town was in the northeast direction, but wasn't sure how to get there, "Yoshi has an idea, but not too sure..."

"It's the best option, I think. Better than dumb and dumber over there, who probably don't even know how _they_ got here," Daisy said, glancing at Wario and Waluigi from the corner of her eye.

Wario snarled and lunged at her, and was stopped by Luigi, who stuck out his leg in front of Wario, causing him to fall over. He dashed away before Wario had figured out what had happened, and casually added to the conversation, "Yeah, Yoshi. It sounds like a good idea. It's better than standing here all night, anyway."

Yoshi nodded, turning towards the bushes where he came from, "Come on, then," he said, before rushing into the brush, followed by the group of six, who struggled to keep up with the quick-paced dinosaur.

Toad gaped at the item contained in Birdo's egg. It was better than he had hoped.

He tore the last bit of shell away from the Bob-Omb, revealing its shining black body to Birdo, who squealed in delight. His grin grew wider when the other two items were revealed, a star and a koopa shell. Eggs held three items, usually, one being the most powerful, and two others with less power, but more when combined.

The mushroom boy studied the items, and then his eyes wandered around the room and other cells, and stopped on the shelf of jars down the hallway. A smirk made its way across his face and he held the shell above his head, throwing it as hard as he could in the direction of the wall-shelf. The shell followed its intended course, and smashed into the wall, shaking it and sending the jars to the floor, crashing upon the cold stones, and jolting the guard awake. He groaned and hopped up, sleepily making his way over to the fallen jars. He didn't even notice the shell when it ricocheted off the wall behind him, and was sent towards him, sending him flying forward and onto the floor, where one final jar crashed upon his head, knocking him senseless.

Toad laughed joyously, he hadn't expected for it to go so easily. He looked to Birdo and nodded, walking to the back of the cell and winding the spring up on the Bob-Omb's back. He gave it four turns, and set it on the ground, where it began to move forward, toward the wall. After four steps, it stopped and began to tick.

Three.

Two.

One.

BOOM!

The explosion made the floors shake and the bars rattle, but the wall had crumbled before them, and the thick, smoky air of the Koopa Kingdom flooded in. Toad coughed a bit, and grabbed Birdo's paw, leading her quickly out into the crimson light and away from Bowser's Castle as fast as their legs could carry them. The koopa troop would be by any second to investigate their escape, and they would ultimately be better off far away from the castle and koopas.

Toad jumped when he heard frantic yelling behind them, and loud crashing and banging, followed by the pounding feet of the koopa troop, who had arrived on the scene far faster than expected. The mushroom boy swore under his breath and took off faster, dragging a hop-skipping Birdo behind him to the nearest pipe. He didn't care where it led to, as long as it was far away from Bowser's Keep.

He threw himself into the pipe, and went at a blinding speed through it, being spit out into the Marios' front yard.

_What luck!_ he thought happily, but then remembered the koopas may still be on their trail. He and Birdo dashed to the bushes and squatted behind them, awaiting the arrival of the koopas.

They never came.

Toad let out the breath he had been holding subconsciously and laughed nervously. He stood up slowly, and looked around. Then he suddenly remembered where he was going in the first place, to the Marios' for tea.

"I hope I'm not too late..." he muttered, climbing the front steps. He looked up at the front door, which had a note tacked to it, "Huh?"

Luigi's note flapped in the evening breeze, and Toad snatched it and read it, "Hey Birdo! Let's go on in, they should be back any minute..."

Toad turned to Birdo, who still sat in the bushed, staring wide eyed and pointing at the sky behind him. Puzzled, he turned slowly and gasped. The sky was blood-red, and mixed in were yellows and orange hues. But the most disturbing thing about it was the thick black smoke than hung low over the treetops.

Yoshi broke though the shrubbery and out of the forest, and stopped dead when he saw what had happened to the once cheery Toad Town. From his vantage point upon a cliff, high above the destruction below, he saw what was left of the village. It lay nearly in ruins, as koopas armed with various weapons marched through the streets, terrorizing the remaining residents, and capturing others. But what caught his eye was the flames that reached to the sky, dancing and mingling with the reddened hues of the atmosphere. The flames came from a large building, whose once pearly white stones were charred and burned, the crimson shingles sliding off the towers, that once stood tall. And the stained glass window lay in shards, that had been spread out very far when it was blasted to pieces.

The once proud Toadstool Castle fell to the ground in a mass of burning stones, and the Kingdom with it.

The other six came bursting out of the forest moments later, and Yoshi turned to the Princess, with tears in his eyes, "Princess... Yoshi's so... sorry..." he whispered, feeling ashamed that he hadn't reached her in time. Maybe if he had been faster, this wouldn't have happened.

Princess Peach stood still, watching her kingdom burn to the ground, watching the koopas terrorize her people...

Watching Bowser win.

She sank to her knees, picking up one of the glass shards of the stained glass window carefully, and holding it gently in her gloved hand. It was all she had left of her kingdom, of her home. She stood up slowly, gripping the shard of glass tightly, almost so it pierced her delicate skin through her slik glove, and her tears flowed freely.

The others stood behind her, staring in shock at what was left of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Luigi couldn't believe it. After all these years, the one place he was proud to call his home was nothing but a smouldering pile of ashes, soon to be a desolate wasteland like the previous Koopa Kingdom. He closed his eyes, sighing and tightening his grip on Daisy's hand, who stood beside him with her other hand over her mouth in shock. Even Wario and Waluigi felt slightly depressed at the current state of the kingdom.

Mario closed his eyes, trying to keep from crying himself. He had felt this kingdom to be his home, where he belonged. When he opened his eyes again they burned with an intense rage and hatred for Bowser. He shook with hatred and rage, and pain.

He walked forward and stood beside Peach, placing a hand on her arm, he spoke slowly, "I'll get him. I'll get him for this..."

"No... We all will," came a voice from behind them, and Mario and Peach turned to the group. Luigi was the one who had spoken, and held a serious look on his face, not only serious, but determined. He stepped forward, "We'll get him."

Daisy nodded and stepped up beside him, "Sarasaland will be glad to be of service to you, your highness. Just say the word, and it will be done," she said stiffly, looking determined and angered by Bowser's cowardly move.

The Wario Brothers stood back, they refused to help. If anything, they were going to aid Bowser, whom they were sure would pay them a hefty reward.

"I won't lie to ya," Wario began, "we aren't with you. We think it's about time, in fact, you should have seen it coming."

"Yeah. You deserve every broken shard of glass, every crumbled wall. Every life taken," Waluigi spat, eternally jealous of the high lives they led, "And we're positive King Koopa will rule this land better than you ever have."

The brothers turned on their heels, and marched away from the broken hearted princess and her allies, snickering and plotting amongst themselves.

Mario growled and lunged forward at their retreating backs, "You-"

"Mario stop!"

Mario halted, and turned, surprised to the princess, "But didn't you hear them? They said-"

"Just... Just let them go..." she pleaded, "It's their choice."

Mario sighed, obeying his Princess' wishes and returned to the group of, now, five. They stood together atop the cliff overlooking the smoking Toad Town, and vowed revenge upon the Koopa King.


	9. Chapter Nine: Koopas out Cold

Chapter 9: Koopas out Cold

Toad dropped the note in shock, and took a running dive for the bushes where Birdo was crouching. He peeked out through the leaves at the darkened sky, and began to shiver. He turned to Birdo, who sat still, unmoving, eyes fixed on the thick cloud of smoke that billowed towards them. It was like death. Death coming towards them, inescapable, and it swallows anything in its wake, never to return.

Toad's anxiety was increased threefold when he heard the shouting and laughing of the koopas, and the distressed screams of a female voice nearby. His heart thumped so hard he could hear it in his ears. Was it the Princess? What were they doing to her?

In a rush of adrenaline and his concern for the Princess, he dashed out of the underbrush, despite Birdo's whimpering. He rushed through the woods, tripping a few times, but picking himself back up as quickly as he had fallen. The voices grew louder, nearer, and soon they were right in front of him. he dashed behind a nearby tree, and peered out from the side to view the attackers.

There were two koopas, clad in metal armor, but they didn't seem to have any weaponry. The girl with them was not the Princess, however, but a young mushroom girl, with a pink and white hat, and pigtails that swung from side to side as she struggled to break free from her captors.

"Let me go, you big oaf!" she screeched, raising a hand to strike at one of the koopas.

The koopa narrowly dodged her hand, and grabbed her arm, "Hey, no violence! It'll only make things worse for you..." he laughed bitterly, and gripped her wrist tighter in his claws, so that she gasped in surprise and pain.

"Get off of me!" she yelled audibly, and wrenched her wrist from his grip, poking him square in the eye.

The koopa shrieked in surprise, and let go of her briefly, making sure his eye wasn't too badly damaged, "Damn, you're more trouble than you're worth!" he snarled, twisting both of her arms behind her back to keep her from lashing out again.

"You won't be so feisty when you spend a few years in the dungeon, I'm sure..." the second koopa sneered, standing as far as possible from the raging mushroom girl. His eye strayed from the struggle before him, and rested on a tree, "That's odd..." he muttered, upon noticing a strange red and white object behind it.

"What?" the first koopa inquired from behind the girl, who had stopped struggling against him, "What's there?"

"I dunno, just some...thing..."

"Go check it out."

"What? Why do I have to?"

The first koopa motioned to the girl with his eyes, and made a noise very similar to an 'ahem'.

"Ah, I get it," the second replied, and slowly, cautiously, moved towards Toad's hiding place, muttering obscenities under his breath.

Toad's forehead began to drip with sweat, as the troopa inched closer and closer to his hiding place. He had to think fast, or risk being thrown into the dungeon again, along with the girl. He frantically searched for something to ward the koopa off with if he were found, and suddenly remembered the star from Birdo's egg. He hadn't yet used the star, and it still sat snug in his pocket, waiting for the right time.

Toad smirked and launched himself away from the tree trunk, "Hey losers! Looking for me?" he said, standing in front of them with his arms crossed, in an attempt to look tough.

"What the- yeah, I was lookin' for you, as a matter of fact," the second koopa said, chuckling lightly, "You gonna try and hurt us or somethin'?"

"What if I am?"

The troopas stared at Toad, and glanced at one another, then back at Toad once more, blinking. They then threw their heads back and laughed coldly, "That's a joke! You can't beat us! You're a freaking mushroom!" the first gasped out between laughing fits, temporarily forgetting about the girl, and loosening his grip slightly.

The mushroom girl took this to her advantage, and quickly slid out of the koopa's grip, and tripping him onto the forest floor. She stood above him, sending a blow to his side and knocking the wind out of him. The koopa writhed on the ground, clutching at his stomach, and gasping out to the second troopa, rushed to his aid.

While the second koopa was distracted by the girl, Toad whipped out the star, and touched it to his heart. A warm glow washed over him, engulfing him in the blinding light of the star, and he rushed into the fray, kicking and punching all the way. The koopas attempted to send a few blows to his head, a futile action, as the star made one incapable of feeling pain and invulnerable to having injury inflicted on them. Soon enough, the troopas were on their backs, knocked out cold by Toad's furious attack.

Once the star has faded, Toad sighed in relief, and then smiled he had beaten two koopa troopas! And to believe Peach had said that he couldn't do it...

"Wow, you sure taught them," the girl said, bending over one of the koopas to make sure they weren't faking it, "Hah, they're not so tough."

"Heh, I could've done it with my eyes closed!" Toad boasted.

"Pfft," the girl said, waving a hand, "that's not true; it was the star that made you able to do it."

Toad's ego shrunk back to its normal size, and he shook his head, "Yeah, you're right."

"Thanks, anyway. That really was awesome!" she squeaked, "I've never seen someone take on even one koopa and come out unscathed! You're still really awesome!"

Toad blushed, "Ah, it's no problem. So...uhh.. Hi, I'm Toad."

"Hah, that's weird..." the girl said, laughing slightly.

Toad raised an eyebrow, what was so weird about him name? "What's weird?"

"My name's Toadette. What a coincidence, eh?"

"Yeah, I guess. You know that -is- weird..." Toad said, "Hah."

"Umm, you know, we might want to get out of here. I mean, this place is crawling with those dirty koopas," Toadette said, narrowing her eyes with the words "dirty koopas"

"Oh, yeah. Um, I can only think of one place far enough from the castle, though. It might be safer."

"Where?" Toadette asked, apparently still afraid of koopas, because her eyes darted around the shadows, trying to pick up any movement.

"At the Marios' house. It's a bit of a walk, but it's a lot better than being here, that's for sure," Toad said, turning around the way he came, "Come on, I'll take you there."

Toadette nodded and followed closely behind.

As the two began to disappear into the forest, a dark figure slowly picked itself up from the ground and dragged itself along behind the footprints left in the muddy ground. He growled under his breath and got up, dragging his left foot along the dirt. Still following the unintentional trail left behind by the pair, he retrieved a bomb from a pocket in his armor and chuckled coldly, disappearing into the darkness as well.

"Wario and Waluigi? What do they want?"

"They say they have services to offer to the future king," Kamek said, "I don't trust them though. They're thieving, rotten little b-"

"Oh really? Send them in," Bowser said, "I'm always happy to have new recruits!"

Kamek raised an eyebrow, "Err, okay then, sire. I'll send for them immediately..." he said, and soon after, he disappeared into a puff of yellow smoke.

The King waved a paw through the air to waft the smoke away, "Damn, that stuff stinks..."

Considering his castle wasn't built yet, Bowser had taken residence in his Airship, and had set his throne in the captain's cabin. A lush, blood red carpet lined the wooden floor, adding slightly to its less than impressive appearance. Sure, it wasn't as great as his new throne room was to be, but it would suffice for the time being.

Moments later, a loud commotion sounded outside the large doors of the cabin, "What do ya mean? I should go in first! I'm older!"

"I don't care. I'm a hell of a lot smarter than you. Speaking of which, I'M doing the talking!"

Bowser sighed and massaged his temple. This was going to be a headache.

The doors opened, and Kamek poked his head in. He has soon knocked flat by the two brothers, who came rushing in through the doors, and trampling him in the process.

"Koopa, we've got a little deal to make with you!" Waluigi said, smirking.

"Really? What kind of deal?"

"It seems you're the big cheese 'round here. We think it would be best to throw our chips in with ya," Wario said, "For a price..."

Bowser leaned back in his throne, in thought. Now, the Wario Brothers were a force to be reckoned with. They had Bob-Ombs a plenty, and Waluigi seemed to have his own miniature army of piranha plants. Bowser knew they would be very useful to him, but what of their price?

_Nah. No price is too much for a King,_ the King thought, and his lips pulled back into a sharp-toothed grin.

"Alright, you have a deal. Name your price."

Wario grinned widely at the mention of "price" and wrung his hands in excitement, "What do you say to... 1000 coins?"

Bowser's eyebrows shot up. That was a hefty price. But... considering the amount he had collected in raiding the Castle, he was wealthier than he was before. He rapped his fingers on the armrest of the throne, and bit down on his lip, making his final decision.

"Fine, 1000 coins," Bowser said, "Welcome aboard..."

Wario and Waluigi grinned, and each shared a handshake with the koopa king in turn.

"I just can't believe it..." Princess Peach sighed, swirling her tea a bit. She didn't drink it, however, just sat and stared into it through half-lidded eyes. What was she to do? Her kingdom was under Bowser's control, her castle burned to the ground, and her people locked within the Koopa King's dungeon. Her people probably thought she was dead. 'Good riddance' they'd say, 'koopa knows how to rule a land, anyway.'

She sighed and placed the tea back down again, avoiding the gazes of the others in the room. They were eerily silent, each taking care not to mention anything about the castle.

Mario sat across from her at the table, frowning. He hated to see her this way. He got up from the table slowly, and left. He walked through his house to the front door, and stepped out into the night. He needed to get away from it. Away from all their sad faces, from their forced silence. They thought it was hopeless, didn't they?

It wasn't hopeless, Mario would be sure of that. He'd wring Koopa's neck with his own bare hands, if he could. It was the last straw. He'd gone too far. That damn turtle had made everyone he loved suffer in one way or another too many times.

It was his turn to suffer.

Lost in his anger, Mario hardly noticed the two figures walking up the path, until one called out his name in a high-pitched voice.

"Toad?"

Sure enough, the cheery mushroom boy bounced up the path, followed by a girl Mario had never met before.

"Hey Mario! Did you see what-"

"Yes. Yes I did..." Mario said, cutting off Toad in mid-sentence. Toad noticed sadness in the hero's eyes he'd never seen before. Mario had always seemed so sure, so sure of everything. Happy. But, things were different this time...

"Oh..." Toad said, lowering his gaze to the ground, "Mario, what- What'll we do?"

"I don't know..." Mario said quietly. He shook his head a bit and looked up again, smiling weakly, "Come on in, you're really late for tea, aren't you? Oh, and who's this?' he asked, motioning towards Toadette, who stood behind Toad.

"Oh, this is Toadette. I saved her from some koopas. Hear that, I beat some koopas!"

Mario chuckled lightly, "Good job, Toad. And pleased to meet you, Toadette. Come on inside now, both of you, it's not a good time to be outside, anyway."

The three entered the house again, and made their way back into the sitting room, where the others sat in silence. Peach looked up briefly to acknowledge their presence, and did a double take, finally noticing Toad. She dashed out of her seat and enveloped the boy in her arms.

"Oh, thank the stars you're safe," she sighed, "I was afraid you were in the castle..."

Once the Princess let him out of her hold, the boy smiled, "It's okay Princess, I'm fine!"

"Who's this?" Peach asked, eyeing Toadette, "A friend of yours?"

"I saved her! From two koopas! Two! I told you I could take on a koopa, princess," Toad laughed.

"Well, I was wrong about you then Toad," the princess said, "Hello Toadette."

Toadette stared wide eyed at her. She never thought she'd ever meet the princess, of all people. Or Mario. She bowed, "Good evening, your highness."

"Such formalities aren't necessary; just call me Peach, okay?"

Toadette nodded, "Yes prin- Peach."

She looked around the room. _Wow, I never thought I'd be here of all places. In the Marios' house!_ she thought, giggling.

Luigi entered the room, having been in the kitchen earlier making dinner. Unlike his brother, who could burn even water, Luigi was a very good cook, and since nobody possessed the skills to cook, save for Peach - who could only bake cakes, he had volunteered to make dinner for the lot of them. He carried a stack of plates in his arms, and set them at the small table.

"Sorry there isn't a bigger table, we don't entertain much," he chuckled, setting out the plates on the small wooden table, along with the silverware.

Luigi left the room again, and soon returned with a large platter of fried shrooms and spaghetti. They all nearly dove into it, seeing as they had been in the forest - or in Bowser's Dungeon - for more than a couple of days, and hadn't had a full meal in ages. They had to keep Yoshi from eating the entire platter before anyone else got a chance, and he sat in the corner, pouting and hoping for leftovers.

After a while, the plates had been cleaned, and Mario took them back into the kitchen to wash them with Toad, who had volunteered to help.

"Well, what are we going to do now?" Daisy asked suddenly, "About all this?"

Peach sighed, "I don't know, I really don't. There's the possibility of trying to find some recruits to go against him, I suppose. But the Mushroom Kingdom never had an army..."

"Well, that explains a lot," Daisy snapped, taking a sip of her tea, she continued, "Sarasaland has a pretty good defense system, If I do say so myself."

"Do you think that they could help out?"

"Peach, I wouldn't have mentioned it if I were going to say no!" Daisy laughed, "Of course! Remember what I said earlier?"

Peach nodded, "Alright, but... are you sure? I mean, I wouldn't want them to be...well... wasted on my behalf…"

"Seriously, what did I just say? It's no problem at all. And besides, the Mushroom Kingdom is much more valuable than you think, Princess."

"Leave Bowser to me..."

It was Mario who had spoken, and was leaning in the doorway. A serious look was frozen on his face, and he truly meant what he had said. He wanted to execute his revenge on the koopa himself.

"Mario, you can't possibly-" Peach began, but was cut off by Mario's voice.

"Bowser's gone too far this time. I won't let him go unpunished. I swear I'll kill him."

A silence took hold of each of them, as they all stared at Mario's form in the doorway. He stood still, staring each of them down, daring them to try to convince him otherwise. Mario was a very hard person to persuade, and something about the tone of his voice and look in his eyes told them all that trying to change his mind was a futile act. His heart was set on his revenge.

Each of them lowered their gaze as Mario passed, and sat on the loveseat beside Princess Peach, who looked up at him pleadingly before turning back the others, "I'll see if I can find anyone in the town, maybe they'll be willing to help..."

Luigi shook his head, "No, Princess, I'm afraid it's too dangerous. Now, the Mushroom Kingdom isn't safe, and I think it's best that we all get as far away from it as possible for the time being. I know it hurts to leave it behind, but we'll have to..." he sighed, "for the good of the people. If they want you to survive, we have to get you out of here, before Bowser finds you. We're much too close to the danger right now..."

Yoshi nodded, "Luigi's right. We need to get the Princess away, and the rest of us too. Yoshi's afraid of what might happen if we don't."

"You're all welcome in Sarasaland with me. It's safe for now, and will be a good place to rest and recover," Daisy suggested, "That is, if you don't mind coming."

"I think that would be best," Peach said.

Mario stood up, "Then it's settled, we leave for Sarasaland in the morning. For now, you'd better get some rest. I'll-" he stopped in mid- sentence and rushed to the window. He knew he'd seen a flash in the darkness nearby, but what was it?

Suddenly, the house was aglow with a brilliant light, followed with red flames.

Mario saw nothing more.


	10. Chapter Ten: Brush with Death

Chapter 10: Brush with Death

"You did WHAT?"

"I- I blasted it, sire. Sent them six feet under... I- I thought it would help..."

"I told you to leave them to ME!" the King roared, backhanding the koopa, sending him flying back a few feet, "You idiot!"

The troopa stared wide eyed at Bowser, whom was spewing flames so close to his face that he could feel the heat on his beak. He tried to shuffle away, but was stopped short by King Koopa's massive paw, which grabbed him by the neck and lifted him from the floor.

Bowser held him close to his face, "Do you know what happens to failures?"

The koopa shuddered and shook his head slowly, still staring into the King's crimson eyes, which burned intensely back at him. Bowser's fingers closed around the troopa's neck, as he spoke in a low, threatening voice,

"Let's just say it'll be a short drop with a quick stop."

The troopa's face paled, and he fell from Bowser's grip.

"I'll enjoy your public execution," Bowser said simply, flashing a sharp- toothed grin. That would be the troopa's last painless memory.

Luigi scrambled up out of the rubble, panting heavily. Once he had managed to free himself from underneath on of the roof rafters, he stood up slowly, gasping for breath. He studied the damage that had been done by the bomb, and sighed heavily. It was gone, all gone. Everything they owned, everything they had. Not to mention the house itself. Its top floor had semi-collapsed, sending pieces of the roof on top of them, along with most of the top floor. One corner had remained intact, but there was a pile of boards leaning against it, keeping him from seeing what was behind it.

Then realisation socked him hard in the gut. Everyone else was still down there, underneath what was left of the Mario residence. He scurried around in a frenzied panic, trying to find any signs of life in the rubble. What if they were hurt?

What if they were dead?

He let out a strangled cry, and rushed to find something, anything. Anything that would reassure him. He tossed away boards, shingles, pipes, but found nothing. Nothing.

The tall man sank to his knees, clutching at the charred dirt beneath him, "Damn it..." he whimpered, shutting his eyes tightly.

They snapped open again when he heard the sound of some shifting boards, and a whine came from the pile of rubble. Luigi turned around, and rushed to where the noise had come from, tearing the boards away from his distressed friend.

"Mister Luigi," it croaked, "What happened?"

Luigi cringed, lifting the dinosaur from underneath the wreckage, "I don't know Yoshi, but it definitely wasn't good..." he said quietly.

"Oh no!" Yoshi cried, running out into the middle of the rubble, opening his arms wide, "Mario and Luigi's house is gone!"

"That's not all..." Luigi said, still frantically searching for anybody, and praying that they weren't dead, "Yoshi, you have to help me look. We have to get everyone out of here immediately. If you find anything, send for me!"

Yoshi nodded and began to push large bricks out of the way, searching through the remains of the Marios' house. He came upon a red and white cap, which he was sure belonged to Toad. Sure enough, the cap was on an unconscious Toad, whom was lying underneath several boards, which hadn't managed to hit his body, stopped by the one that had hit his head, and shielded his body. Yoshi licked a trickle of blood off the boy's face, wincing at the bitter taste, and called for Luigi, who rushed over to inspect Toad.

"He's alive. Try to wake him up. I've got to keep looking."

Luigi felt bad rushing away like that, but he had to find the others. He tossed various items away and came across Princess Daisy, who lay very still on the cold ground. Luigi's heart sunk so low he could have sworn it left his body and went into the dirt below him. He slowly crawled over to her, groping at her wrist and checking for a pulse. There was one. He sighed in relief and made an attempt to wake her, shaking her gently and calling her name.

Daisy's blue eyes slowly opened, and she gazed up at Luigi, "What...happened?" she whispered, gasping as she tried to sit up. She clutched at her side, which was bleeding slightly, but it wasn't too serious, she insisted. Luigi took her word for it, and tried to avoid worrying about her too much. He explained what had happened, and helped her up. She struggled to stay up, and was forced to lean on him for support, as they staggered over to where Yoshi stood over Toad, whom was awake and begging Yoshi to find the princess. Apparently, Yoshi had rescued a few others while Luigi was dealing with Daisy, for Toadette and Birdo sat amongst the wreckage, staring in shock at the destruction the koopa had caused.

Yoshi went with Toad's wishes, and set off in search of Princess Peach. He sniffed here and there (as Yoshis have an excellent sense of smell) trying to pick up the scent of the Princess. He found her underneath an upturned couch, trapped but unharmed. Both Yoshi and Luigi, whom were the most capable at the time being, flipped the couch over, and helped her out.

"Wow, you were very lucky, Princess," Yoshi said, leading her to where the others were seated, "You haven't been hurt at all!"

Daisy scowled at Peach. "Leave it to her to be unbelievably lucky," she growled, rolling her eyes and exhaling sharply, still clutching her side.

Peach ignored Daisy and sat down carefully between Toad and Toadette, eyeing each of them, "Where's Mario?" she gasped, looking up at Luigi.

Luigi's eyes darted around. Where was Mario? They'd searched nearly every part of the house, but they hadn't found Mario's body. Luigi shuddered. Mario's _body_. It made it sound like he was dead. No, Mario wasn't dead; He couldn't be dead.

"Come on, Yoshi. We still have to find Mario," Luigi said, trying to keep a serious and calm demeanor as he turned back to the remains of his house. Yoshi followed behind him, sniffing the air tirelessly, his shoes crunching on the shattered glass and powdered bricks. They came to the one corner of the house that remained intact, and Yoshi let out the breath he had been holding.

"He's there," Yoshi said quietly.

Luigi nodded and tore away at the boards that were resting against the remaining wall. They were at a 60 degree angle to the wall, and could possibly have served as a shield against falling debris from above. Luigi hoped that it had. Then Mario would be alright, and they could all get out of there and to Sarasaland before anyone ended up dead. He squeezed between two boards, Yoshi followed, and they saw him.

Mario lay on the ground, in a huge, wet puddle. It was hard to see it in the darkness, but he was sure of what it was.

_A Puddle?_ Luigi thought. _Oh no..._

He dashed over to Mario, whom was soaked in the wet liquid. Blood? Luigi closed his eyes to keep the tears from flowing from them. Mario was dead, wasn't he? Why else would he be lying motionless, in a puddle of something wet? "Oh, Mario..." he whimpered, hugging his brother close to him.

Yoshi stood far away, nearly bursting out crying, "Maaario!" he wailed, scampering over to Mario and Luigi. Upon reaching them , he tripped over something on the ground, earning him a face full of mud. He lay in the puddle of mud for a moment, his nose deep in the cold liquid..

It didn't smell like blood.

Ignoring the sobbing Luigi behind him, Yoshi sniffed the liquid again to make sure. No, it really didn't smell like blood. Then, Yoshi dared to stretch his tongue outward onto the liquid, tasting it. No, it didn't taste like blood either. It was actually like...water. He picked up the sound of rushing water nearby, and shifted his gaze to the huge water pipe above them, which rained water into them, covering them all in a wet liquid. Water. The -water- had soaked Mario!

Yoshi yelped in happiness, "Mister Luigi! Mario's not dead!"

"What?"

"It's water! Not blood!"

Luigi studied his brother again. No, it wasn't blood, now that he took a closer look. Through his adventuring in his early years, he'd suffered many a wound. He knew that blood was thick and warm, and most importantly, dark and red. Mario was soaked in water, a clear, runny liquid. Luigi's heart did a flip of joy when he caught Mario's pulse. He was only unconscious!

He hugged his brother closely, and lifted his body into his arms. Luigi's knees buckled underneath him, he wasn't too strong. But he was fast. And he carried Mario out of there in a flash, trailed by Yoshi, whom skipped alongside him; making comments about how strong Luigi must be to carry Mario.

Mario was set down in front of the reminder of the group, unconscious, as Luigi explained to them. They'd have to carry him along until he came around, because they couldn't afford to stay and wait.

There was only one pipe to Sarasaland, and it was located underground, Warp Zone 4904, Peach pointed out. They would have to find a pipe that lead to the Underworld, and make their way from there. Underworld, however, was crawling with monsters. Aside from the typical Goomba or Koopa Troopa, Piranha Plants and Buzzy Beetles roamed the cavernous Underworld, among other things. Piranha Plants were usually harmless; minding their own business, popping out of their pipes now and then, and the beetles would only patrol the corridors, and could be avoided or killed easily. It wouldn't be too difficult to make it past them to the Sarasaland pipe, right?

So, they set off in search of an Underworld pipe slowly, as an unconscious Mario, and an injured Princess (whom threateningly insisted it wasn't serious) slowed them down a considerable amount.

"Jeez, you'd think that with all the running around and saving princesses, Mario would've lost a few pounds..." Luigi muttered between clenched teeth. He'd been carrying Mario for over a half-hour, while they searched for a pipe to Underworld far enough from the Kingdom. They trekked through the forest, and were now in the middle of a grassy field, far from Toad Town and the Koopa Troopas.

"Oh, stop whining..." Daisy hissed, flinching whenever she spoke.

Peach glanced worriedly from one person to the next. They were all so tired...

"I think we should rest now. We've been going on for hours without sleep... Then we could go on easier, I think," she said, stopping.

"Thank the Stars..." Luigi mumbled, and set Mario on the ground, "On the bright side, I'm getting one hell of a workout," he chuckled, trying to make light of the situation, "But, I wonder... Why hasn't he woken up yet?"

"Dunno..." Toad said, "I hope he comes back soon, though. We'll really need him once we get to Underworld..."

Luigi nodded, watching the others sit down on the soft grass, exhausted, "You all get some rest now, I'll keep watch."

Each party member nodded, too tired to argue otherwise, and lay down on the grass, falling asleep nearly immediately. Only Birdo remained wide awake, staring at Luigi strangely. Irritated, Luigi snapped at her, "What?"

Birdo couldn't speak, and so she didn't answer. She wanted to say that she could keep watch instead, but speech was nearly impossible for her, and she attempted to communicate anyway. After a series of low honking noises, she tackled him to the ground, attempting to tell him to lie down and sleep. She must have gone about it the wrong way, because Luigi saw it as something else.

He yelped and threw Birdo off of him, "What are you trying to do, kill me?"

"She wants you to sleep..." Daisy's voice came from the left of him. She sat up in the grass, looking at Birdo, who was picking herself off the wet ground, and muttering in her own language.

Luigi turned to Daisy, raising an eyebrow, "How'd you get 'sleep' from attacking me?"

"She wants to take over watch instead of you. She says that you're tired and need rest. She was trying to get you to lie down..."

"How'd you know that?"

"Being a Princess, you have to know these things," she said matter-of- factly, smirking slightly, "to keep up public relations with other countries; you need to know what they're saying. That's why we're tutored on boring things day and night, in fact."

"Oh, I see..." Luigi said, turning back to Birdo, "Sorry about that, you really can take over if you want. I'd like that, in fact."

Birdo hopped up, nodding, and stood upright and at attention, watching out all around them for any sign of movement. And Luigi lay his head back down on the soft grass and immediately fell into a deep sleep. The Stars were watching over them carefully, protecting them from harm.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Battle in the Underworld

Chapter 11: Battle in the Underworld

"Mario... Mario, wake up..."

The voice seemed so far away, so distant, yet soothing and relaxing. He remembered it vaguely, like something from a dream, but couldn't quite place it. Was it the voice of someone he knew? Someone he once knew, long ago? Or was it only his imagination?

"Wake up...please..."

There it was again. Who was calling him? Why did they want him to come back? He was free. Free of the worry, free of everything. Free of the pain. The memories, of what happened. He could barely remember it now, the burning castle, the suffering kingdom. It faded away into nothing, just like he had.

He wasn't a hero. He couldn't save them now, why bother going back?

"Please! Come back, Mario!"

Whoever was calling was getting desperate. Why? Why do they want him to go back to the pain again? Shouldn't they be happy? Happy that he was free. Maybe they should be free too? That would make them happy.

The darkness disappeared, and the light took over. The light. No, not the light. It meant he was going back. He didn't want to go back again, he was happy here.

"Mario! Wake up!"

"Please! Come back, Mario!"

Luigi and Peach stood over Mario, shaking him, and trying to get a response. Every time, they received nothing, and became more desperate, screaming his name and shaking him violently. But Mario remained the same, stone-still and emotionless. But they didn't give up, and made every effort to wake him again

Peach sighed, dropping to her knees and shaking his shoulder, "Come on, Mario..." she said, quieter than before, "We need you to help us..."

Mario was the best defense they had. Luigi's combat skills would do for now, but once they reached Underworld, they would need more. Mario also had the best knowledge of the pipes, having traveled them the world over.

Soon after, Mario stirred, and both Luigi and Peach let out a cry of delight and surprise. He opened his eyes, and shut them tightly again once the dawn light hit them. He groaned and sat up slowly, holding his head.

"Ugh, what happened?" he asked groggily, looking around at the battered, and tired group huddled around him.

"Koopa, that's what," Luigi said icily, "He sent a bomb, it seems. It blasted the house apart. It's a miracle we all made it out alive."

"Ah, I see. What-" Mario began, but was cut off by Peach, who wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him close, rambling about how she thought he'd die. Mario's expression softened, and he held her close to him for a few minutes, before she pulled away, embarrassed.

"Sorry..." she whispered, standing up again, "Umm, are you okay?"

"Everything seems to work," Mario said, standing up and dusting himself off. He felt rather sore, but wasn't going to tell them that. They'd most likely fawn over him like some wounded puppy, which he definitely didn't want.

"Good. We're headed to Underworld to get to the Sarasaland pipe, Mario." Luigi explained, standing up as well, "We're just a little ways away from the nearest underground pipe in fact, and were about to leave, when we decided to try and wake you. now that we have, we'd better get going." he said, turning to leave, and motioning for the rest to follow him.

Mario grimaced, and followed behind them through the woods.

Eventually, they came across the pipe, which sat nestled between two trees, and was covered in vines. Yoshi removed them with one quick swipe of his tongue, and they each jumped down the pipe to Underworld.

The Wario brothers were lounging in their makeshift garage (which had previously been owned by a mushroom citizen. Wario and Waluigi 'took it off his hands' earlier in the day, and had managed to make themselves rather comfortable. Wario's car sat in the middle of the garage, surrounded by numerous Piranha Plants and Bob-Ombs.

Wario sat back in his chair, smirking, "We're livin' it up, Bro. A few weeks of this and we'll be off to Delfino in no time!" A wide grin spread across his face, as he flipped a coin and caught it.

Ignoring his brother, Waluigi sat crouched beside a Piranha Plant, dodging every snap it tried to make at his hands as he attempted to bandage its leaves, "Wario, why did you have to sick your Bob-Omb on this Plant, huh? It's a real pain in the ass to fix..." he growled, finally managing to hold it still and wrap the bandage around it, ignoring its pained squeals.

"Hey, if your Plants can't handle it, they shouldn't even be hangin' 'round here anyway!"

Waluigi rolled his eyes and stood up again, being very careful to kick a Bob-Omb into Wario's chair, sending it toppling over onto the ground, "C'mon, We'd better get going. Koopa wants us down there in an hour..." he said, grabbing a few pots of plants and struggling against them a bit before finally shoving them into a crate and loading it into Wario's car.

Righting himself and growling, Wario shoved a few disabled Bob-Ombs into a crate as well. He muttered something before stuffing it into the car as well, and hopping into the driver's seat, "Well, we'd better get goin' Eh?" he said, starting the car, "C'mon, let's get outta here. King Bowser's got a job for us to do!"

"Hey you!"

Both Wario and Waluigi turned to Bowser Junior, whom stood in the doorway, sneering at them, "Yeah, what do you want shrimp?" Waluigi asked, glaring at the pint-sized koopa that was keeping them from doing their job.

"I want you to take me with you!"

"Why the hell would we do that?" Wario laughed, elbowing his brother in the ribs, "Hear that, he wants to come with us!"

"Yes, I heard, you idiot, not shut up!" Waluigi snapped, and turned back to the small koopa, "Why?"

"Well, I wanna get that Mario too, you know. And I bet you'd need me."

"Ah, no. Why would we need YOU. We've got enough stuff here..." Waluigi said.

"What about this-" Junior said, smiling. He reached back into his shell and pulled out a golden scepter. This particular scepter belonged to Kamek, the chief Magikoopa, and had been stolen from him while Kamek remained blissfully unaware.

Both the Wario brothers' jaws dropped. not because of the power of the scepter, but the fact that it was -gold- They could bring the little brat along, dump him off somewhere in the Underworld and steal the scepter, and possibly hock it off for a hefty amount of coins. They nodded, agreeing to letting Junior join them in their mission, "Fine, you can come. But screw us up, and you're Koopa meat."

Junior laughed and hopped in the backseat, and strapped himself in between the two crates, trying his best to ignore the outraged snapping of the Piranha Plants and the threatening ticking of the Bob-Ombs.

The Underworld was wet and dark, truly dismal. And the smell didn't help much either. They sloshed through the tunnels in search of Warp Zone 4904, and were growing tired of doing so. It had been 2 hours with no success, and they had been forced to stop several times on Toad or Toadette's account, because they fatigued easily. The tunnels consisted of cold, wet, blue stones and were darker than Forever Forest had been.

"It should be around somewhere..." Mario muttered to himself. It had been a long time since he had traveled to Sarasaland, let alone by Warp Zone. In fact, he hadn't been through the Underworld in ages, it seemed, and he had forgotten how it was laid out. So, they kept going in circles, it seemed.

"Mario, I thought you knew where we were going..." Toad whined, trudging alongside him, growing tired once again.

"I did... but it's been a while..." Mario said, not really listening to Toad's whining, or what he was saying. He just kept looking at the different corridors and soiled signposts that were laid out here and there. He stopped for a minute, looking at a seemingly familiar pathway.

He dug around for any sign of where it might lead, and found a dirty, half broken sign that read 'Warp Zone 4904' on it in bold letters. He smiled triumphantly and straightened up again, turning to show his companions his find, "Look guys, I think we're on the right track."

"Good. Too bad you're not going to make it there..." came a voice from above them, and Mario had to crane his neck to view whoever had spoken.

On a ledge high above them, Waluigi stood, laughing. He held a small potted Piranha Plant, which snapped irritably in his hand. He eyed each of them threateningly, and leapt down to where they were standing. And Wario and Junior stepped out of the shadows from behind him, wielding a Bob- Omb and Kamek's scepter.

"So... Look who's come all the way down here... Too bad they won't be goin' back up..." Wario said, tossing his Bob-Omb into the air and catching it again, laughing.

"Oh yeah! We're gonna KILL you!" Junior laughed, pointing the scepter straight at Mario's chest.

Mario stood in front of the others protectively, "Do you really think you have a chance against ALL of us?"

"Are you kidding? None of them can fight!" Waluigi laughed, gesturing to the others who stood behind Mario, "You're out numbered, really, not us."

Mario was taken aback. Waluigi really was right. They couldn't really fight, save for Luigi. Toad might too, considering he had taken on the koopas earlier. But Birdo and Yoshi didn't have any eggs, Daisy was injured, Peach wouldn't fight anyway, and Toadette...he wasn't sure about Toadette at all.

Mario stood fast, frozen in a fighter's stance. He didn't even notice when the others stepped forward beside him as well, until Wario began to laugh at them, "Lookit that, they all want to fight! What d'ya say we give 'em all we got?"

"With pleasure..." Junior giggled, and shot a beam of light in Yoshi's direction.

Then, their battle began.

Yoshi narrowly dodged Junior's attack, and jumped out of its path. Birdo and He rushed forward at such a speed that once they each made impact with the koopa's body, Junior was sent off his feet and flying into the wall, the scepter flying out of his hands. Princess Peach snatched the sceptre off the ground and turned in on Junior. She hoped desperately that she wouldn't have to use it, though. She didn't want to hurt a child, even if it were Bowser's.

Wario was facing off with Mario. He grinned widely and tossed the Bob-Omb in Mario's direction, where it exploded upon impact with the ground. Mario was sent back a few feet from the explosion. He hadn't received the brunt of the blast, only a slight shockwave, and was soon back on his feet and rushing towards Wario at an incredible speed.

Mario thrust his hand upward, where it connected with Wario's wide chin, sending him reeling backward onto his back with a more than audible thud, and left a sizeable Wario-shaped dent in the stone of the floor. Wario scrambled to get up and reach for another Bob-Omb, but Mario's foot pressing down on his neck stopped him where he was, afraid to move. He then grunted when both Toad and Toadette held him arms down to keep him from reaching for another bomb.

Waluigi was too preoccupied to aide his brother, as Luigi was pummeling him with his fists in a blind rage. Waluigi was just hit, blow after blow, he was too shocked to do anything. But Luigi got tired after a while, and Waluigi took this time to act.

He pulled the Plant out, thrusting it toward Luigi's arm, where it sank its fangs into his soft flesh. Luigi cried out in pain and tried to shake it off, but the Plant's jaws were locked around the plumber's arm, and wouldn't let go of it. Waluigi smirked triumphantly, "What's the matter? Don't like plants?"

Luigi winced, trying to block out the pain and keep himself from looking at the Plant clamped down on his arm, and the blood he was sure was pouring from it.

Waluigi laughed, delighted to see his enemy in such pain. He was so caught up in it, he never noticed Daisy approaching him from behind, wielding a pipe she had picked up off the ground. She swung it hard against his arm, causing him to drop the Plant, and sending Luigi to the ground, with the Plant still struggling to tear his arm off.

"You!" Waluigi snarled, lunging at her, grabbing her wrist and causing her to drop the pipe. He thrust her against the wall, pinning her there with both his arms. She gasped out, trying to twist her way out of his grip, but he held her tightly still, glaring at her. Her blue eyes met his and his hold loosened slightly. He couldn't let go of her and risk another attack from her, nor could he hurt her; he wouldn't. So he pushed her away from him again, hoping he could finish with Luigi before having to deal with her again.

But his plan didn't work out too well, because when he turned around, he learned that Luigi had managed to pry his Plant off him arm, and soon Waluigi found it attached to his own. He cried out and tried to pry it off again, but it only sank its teeth deeper into his thin arm with every move he tried against it.

"What's the matter? Don't like plants?" Luigi hissed through clenched teeth, clutching at his arm, which bled critically, but he still managed a weak smile at Waluigi, who desperately slapped at the Plant's head.

With Junior downed and his weapon turned on him, Wario pinned to the ground, and Waluigi desperately trying to shake his own Plant off his arm, Mario's party had won.

"Now," Mario began, pressing his heel on Wario's throat, "What are you doing here?"


	12. Chapter Twelve: Flight to Sarasaland

Chapter 12: Flight to Sarasaland

"What the hell do you think?" Wario spat, trying to wriggle his way out from underneath Toad and Toadette, whom reacted by pushing down harder on both of his arms, "We've come to do ya in. Or take ya back to Koopa!"

Although Waluigi was struggling to get his Plant off his arm, he still managed to kick Wario's head, "Don't tell them that, you idiot!" he snarled, finally pulling the tired Plant off his arm. He tossed it aside, knowing that it was now useless. A tired plant would never be able to do anything to harm them anyway.

"So, you're working for Bowser now, are you? We should've known. You're the only ones we know who'd sink that low," Luigi said simply, eyeing Waluigi carefully.

Wario laughed the best he could with Mario nearly choking him, which wasn't very well, "Of course! And we're proud of it!" he glanced up at Mario, "But you've beaten us, so we... uh... we're not gonna hurt you now. So, you could... ya know... Get the hell off me!"

Mario scowled, "Fine..." he nodded at Toad and Toadette, and they got off Wario. Mario then lifted his shoe from Wario's throat, stepping back a few feet in case he tried anything funny. Wario got upslowly, grunting and muttering something to himself.

Junior nodded quickly at Peach, whom still held Kamek's sceptre at his head, "Yeah yeah! That goes for me too, Princess!"

Peach hesitated a moment and lowered the scepter, feeling relieved. She wouldn't have wanted to hurt him anyway. She stepped back as well, standing between Birdo and Yoshi as Mario attempted to question Wario, which wasn't so easy now, considering Wario was free to pound him into the floor at any given time.

"What did Bowser tell you to do to us?" Mario asked calmly, but he was really on edge, ready to jump on Wario if he tried to escape.

Wario grinned widely, "He told us to bring you all back to him so he could kill you personally," he said, and felt a pang of delight as each of their faces showed an expression of fear, or panic. But, much to his dismay, they all stayed fairly calm afterwards. No running around in a panic, no yelling in distress. How boring.

"Ah," Mario gulped, "how did you find us?"

"We're not gonna tell you that, you idiot," Wario snapped, still grinning. He glanced briefly at Waluigi, and turned his gaze back to Mario again.

"And why not?" Mario groaned, becoming irritated.

"Because..." he said, taking a few steps back. He grinned again and took out a red Bob-Omb, "we're as good as gone!"

Wario had tossed the Bob-Omb forward and he laughed. Now, normally a Bob-Omb means a rather large explosion, so nearly every person crouched low to the ground, but that wouldn't save them anyway. They sat crouched low as the explosion sounded, eyes shut tightly, awaiting their deaths...

They never came.

Mario opened his eyes, curious as to why he wasn't dead. He didn't see anything; the room was full of red smoke. It wasn't harmful to them, just a cover. A cover so Wario and Waluigi could escape!

He cursed under his breath and coughed, standing up again. The smoke had nearly cleared by now, and he could barely make out the silhouettes of his comrades through the crimson veil of smoke, "Everyone all right?" he called out over their coughing and sputtering. He was answered by a murmur of agreement from each of them, and sighed in relief.

"Oh crap! Don't leave me here!" came Junior's distressed voice, as he frantically scrambled to escape. Unfortunately for him, he hadn't ever been to Underworld, and didn't know the pipes. As a result, the pipe he had dashed into didn't get him anywhere he would've liked. Bowser Junior was spat out of the mouth of the pipe, and he landed in a fresh pile of snow. He lifted himself up out of the wet, cold substance and shivered, cursing Wario and Waluigi under his breath.

"When I tell Papa what happened, he's gonna make shish-kabobs out of them..." He breathed, and stomped down the hill towards Shiver City.

"Well, That's over..." Luigi muttered, irritated, for he was trying to tie his makeshift bandage to his arm. Luigi, apparently, didn't know that tying something to your own arm can be very difficult. It seemed that Yoshi knew this, and rushed over to tie the bandage in place instead.

"For now," the dinosaur said, growing irritated as well when the bandage wouldn't tie, it was slipping with the blood that oozed from Luigi's arm. He finally managed it and tutted lightly, "That Waluigi went all out on you, Luigi. Hope the Piranha Plant wasn't poisonous..."

"If it were poisonous, I would've felt it by now," Luigi snapped, wincing as Yoshi tightened the bandage a bit more and apologized for hurting him, "Don't worry about it, I'll be fine."

"No, we're getting you some help once we reach Sarasaland, Luigi. It's looking pretty bad," Mario said. Luigi began to protest, saying that he'd be fine. Mario looked Luigi in the eye and his brother grew silent, knowing that it was best not to argue at such a time.

"Fine..." Luigi growled, rolling his eyes, "Anyway, we'd better get going in case those clowns come back."

Mario nodded, "As I was saying before they showed up, I've found Zone 4904. It's down here..." he motioned for them all to follow him, and they did so slowly, feeling rather down and discouraged.

Realization of the danger they were in had finally set in, and they were constantly watching their backs and jumping from anything that seemed to move. Anything could be an enemy. Any shadow, any rock, maybe even one of them...

They reached the Warp Zone, and Mario studied each of the three pipes that were laid out before them. Each was a path to another world. They were marked clearly; each had a carefully painted wooden sign hanging from them proudly. The one in the middle clearly marked their destination, and they each hopped into the pipe.

After being sucked through the pipe for a while, they were spat out, through the air, and landed on the grass. It was wet, considering it was raining heavily and Peach whimpered, complaining that she had ruined her dress. She stood up quickly and attempted to wipe the mud off her gown, and growled in frustration it was futile as she was drenched with rain. She pouted and turned to the rest, whom were struggling to get up off the slippery ground.

"Come on, let's get to the palace before I'm soaked through!" she whined. She then turned on her heel and walked briskly in the direction of the palace, which towered high over them, nearly twice the size of Princess Peach's Castle had been.

Daisy groaned as she got up. Peach could be such a nuisance when she wanted to be.

"Well guys, you don't want to stay here all night, do you? Come on..." she said, motioning for them all to follow her, and she trailed behind Peach, whom had begun to complain about her shoes - they were getting all to muddy. They soon reached the marketplace, which surrounded the palace from all sides, and had various residents sitting in their stalls, selling their goods.

"Wow! This place is cool!" Toad remarked, staring fixedly at a chain chomp that was for sale, "Whoa! We'd never see stuff like this in the Mushroom Kingdom!"

It was true. Sarasaland and The Mushroom Kingdom were two distinctly different places, with different cultures. The Mushroom kingdom was well-known for its peaceful manners, not caring to get involved in anything that didn't concern them. They were a peaceful people, minding their own business and affairs, not caring to become mixed up in others'. Sarasaland, on the other hand, was very different. It consisted of four kingdoms, Birabuto, Easton, Muda and Chai. Each of these kingdoms had its own ruler, but with less power than the royal family of Sarasaland.

It was a well known fact that Sarasaland was home to some of the best warriors in the world. Their defense system couldn't be matched, and they were rarely challenged. The only one brave enough was Tatanga the Conqueror, whom had captured Princess Daisy, and was well taken care of by Mario. Why didn't thier army help to be rid of Tatanga at all? Why was Mario the one to do so instead? Didn't they want to help thier Princess?

Sarasaland was governed by the Grand Council, which consisted of the wisest men from each of the four kingdoms. The Council made all the major decisions instead of the royal family or the four kingdoms. This Council ruled the country, not the royal families.

Now, the Council didn't particularly like the royal family, and were overjoyed at the death of Sarasaland's King a few years before. Since then, they had nearly taken over for the King, ruling the country as if they were kings. The only obstacle was Princess Daisy, whom could rule Sarasaland if she were to wed, as the law goes. In Sarasaland, the Queen and King were to work together to rule, not only the King. They would have to be rid of her if they wanted to succeed in their overtaking. So, when she was taken hostage by Tatanga, they made no attempt to rescue her at all, and simply told the public that they were holding a meeting on what to do about the attacker.

So, nothing was done, and Mario was sent by Princess Peach to save Daisy from Tatanga instead. Since then, Daisy had never trusted the council, and rarely went to her homeland, taking up residence in The Mushroom Kingdom.

Toad stared the chain chomp in the eye and ran when it lunged at him, the snifit salesman yelling after him, telling him that it was just a phase, and that it would make a great guard after it grew out of it.

"Wow! Wow, this is so cool!" he laughed, following behind Mario at a kind of hop-skip.

They reached the palace gates soon after, and they stood, drenched though with rain, in front of them. Waiting for the guards to come forward and let them in, or have a verbal skirmish and -then- have them let them in. The guards came forward, speaking lowly to one another, and once they caught sight of Daisy, stared in disbelief,

"You- You're the Princess!" they cried, pointing at her.

"'Course I am! Now let me inside," Daisy spat, perfectly aware that they had been instructed not to let her in. But, they reluctantly did so, slamming the gates behind her and on Luigi, whom began yelling Italian profanities at them, as they had closed the gate on his injured arm.

"They're with me, you idiots," the Princess hissed, and they opened the gates quickly, letting each of them through it, and looking around to see if there were more before shutting it audibly again.

They walked through two large doors and into the main lobby, looking very much out of place among the splendor of the palace, a wet bunch of stragglers. Daisy motioned to a few plush chairs in a circle to their left, telling them to sit down, and she did so herself as well. She then quietly explained to them about the Council, what she knew they had planned, what they had done, everything she knew. They would need to know when they went to the council meeting that evening.

She had planned to go to the council meeting, and get some reinforcements to fight against Bowser's Army. She knew they wouldn't listen, but her title would help her out in this situation. She was still a member of the Royal Family, and still had a say in what was to be done. They couldn't deny her rights yet.

"Those miserable bastards..." Luigi growled once she had finished explaining, "Are you saying they want to kill you?"

"I'm not too sure, but they want to be rid of me, that's for sure."

"But, do we still have a chance against the council at the meeting?" Mario asked.

"I should hope so. I'm still the Princess, you know, they haven't had time to change the law yet. I'm still higher than they are, I think." Daisy said, but she really didn't know. She didn't know whether she still had power in her own country or not. She was really just relying on her luck to help her.

"Mmm," Mario said, voicing his acknowledgement and falling back into his chair. He glanced at Luigi, whom was picking at the bandage on his arm, which was crusted with blood, "Luigi, I think you'd better get that looked at now."

"Ah, no. Not yet. I'll go after the meeting."

"Then at least get a new bandage, that one's bugging the hell out of me."

Luigi grimaced and glared at Mario, "Fine, fine then." Luigi stood up and followed Daisy out of the lobby to get a proper bandage.

Later that evening, Mario, Luigi, Peach and Daisy stood in front of the large, and intricately detailed wooden doors of the Grand Council Room.

"Now, let me do the talking for now, you are only here to back me up of it's needed. They most likely won't listen to a word I say, and I'll need you three to help me out, understand?" Daisy said quickly. She turned back to the doors before hearing their answer, and they were flung open, catching the Council (whom were in the middle of a debate) by surprise. The four of them marched into the room to stand in the middle.

The Council Room was a very large circular room, with row upon row of seats that looked like they belonged in a theatre. The floor was made of white and yellowish marble, depicting the coat of arms of the Sarasaland Royal families. Only the first row of seats was occupied, with five wise men from each kingdom, and three from Sarasaland's royal advisory, whom sat across from the doors in large wooden chairs, previously meant for the King, Queen and Princess. Since they were overthrown, these three men had taken their place at the head of the Council.

"Princess Daisy?" the man in the middle gasped out, looking to his two colleagues, who looked just as shocked.

"Yeah, it's me. What did you expect? I -am- the Princess after all."

The Council remained silent, still staring in disbelief at the Princess, whom they thought was gone for good.

"Now, Grand Council, I have an issue to discuss with you..."


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Sarasaland Council

Chapter 13: The Sarasaland Grand Council

"Damn Wario Brothers," Bowser Junior muttered between shivers, "they never told me they were gonna do that. Stupid jerks."

He stumbled down the hill, tumbling over and earning himself a face full of snow. He lay there for a few seconds, humiliated and annoyed, before lifting his head up and spitting the mouthful of ice out. He mumbled another comment about "The Damn Wario Brothers" and stomped down the hill as fast as he could, to avoid falling over again. This plan didn't work out too well, and he soon found himself rolling to the bottom of the hill and into a snow bank.

By now, the penguins had made their way out of their homes and had gathered at the foot of the hill. They poked at Junior's tail, which protruded from the snow bank, chattering amongst themselves. Without warning, the young koopa burst out of the bank tail-end-first, knocking a few of the villagers over in the process. He sat up groggily, rubbing his head and groaning. His growling stopped abruptly and he looked up again.

A good twenty pairs of black eyes stared back at him, blinking curiously. Their owners cocked their heads to the left simultaneously, blinking their coal black eyes at him again, and squeaking in confusion and curiosity. Junior stared right back. Their beady little eyes and sharp beaks sure were intimidating. His eyes shifted to each of them warily as they closed in on him, and he backed up against the snow bank, jumping when his shell bumped with the snow.

"Who are you?" came a deep voice from one far in the back. How could such a small creature have such a booming voice? Junior was startled, and gave a shaky reply.

"Prince B-Bowser Junior of the... the Koopa Kingdom," he stuttered, using his full title in an attempt to intimidate them.

The penguin in the back made a "Hmm" noise and pushed through the crowd in front of him. He was about up to Junior's shoulder in height (which was saying something, considering Junior himself is barely three feet tall) and his feathers were a light shade of lilac. On top of his head, he wore a brown fur cap, which Junior thought ridiculous, as Penguins didn't need fur to fight the cold.

The old penguin's light feathers ruffled in the cold north wind, and he didn't seem to feel the least bit of cold, compared to Junior, whom shook so violently you'd think he would fall apart. He cleared his throat a bit upon reaching the edge of the circle of penguins, and spoke very loudly.

"Koopa, eh?" he said in that deep, commanding voice of his, "We don't really like that Koopa King 'round here, do we?"

The others behind him murmured in agreement, the curiosity vanishing from their eyes, being replaced by a slight tinge of anger, but they seemed neutral to the situation.

"We think that what he did was terrible, and he should really pay for it!" came a voice from within the sea of penguins, and another murmur of agreement followed.

Bowser Junior was suddenly aware of how outnumbered he was, and thought it was best to play the 'traitor' card.

"I'm not with him," he began, "I tried to convince him not to do it, but he only called me a traitor and sentenced me into exile!" Junior cried, trying to put up his best acting job, "He threw me out here, and if I go back, he said he'd kill me!"

The old penguin seemed to buy his story, he felt sympathetic towards the shivering Koopa Prince, "I see. Well, I am the Mayor of this city, Shiver City. You can stay as long as you like, I suppose."

Bowser Junior smiled, and bowed with fake enthusiasm, "Thank you for your hospitality, sir. I hope it won't be too much trouble."

"No trouble at all!" the Mayor said, motioning for the citizens to resume their normal business, "You may come live with me for now, until we can get you a proper place to stay..."

"Princess, we can take care of matters here. Please leave before we are forced to... escort you to where you belong," one of the Muda Kingdom Councilmen spat, pointing at Daisy accusingly.

"I'm sorry, I must have missed something. Last time I checked, _I _was the Princess," Daisy said calmly, ignoring the enraged look on the man's face, "Unless you're a very ugly Princess, I believe I'm in charge here. Not you."

The man nearly fell over the railing of his balcony and onto the floor, but was held back by the person beside him, whom managed to calm the councilman down after a while. The whole chamber had since gone dead silent. Whether it was out of shock, fear or respect was unknown, but the Princess took it as an opportunity to speak.

"You may or may not know that the Mushroom Kingdom has been attacked by none other than the Koopas. The Koopa King has taken over the kingdom by burning the castle and imprisoning its inhabitants. Not only that, but he's hunting the Princess down, as well as the Mario Brothers. If he gets a hold of them, he will likely kill them," Daisy said loudly, as to carry her voice over the large area of the Council Chamber, "It is wished - no, necessary - that Sarasaland aides them in the oncoming War against Koopa. They only wish for military support, and I will give it to them-"

"That is none of our concern!" cried one of the Chai Kingdom Councilmen, waving his fist through the air in an attempt to clarify his point, "Let the Toadstools take care of themselves!"

This comment aroused a great argument among the councilmen, and their loud, and often angry, voices filled the chamber. The Grand Councilman pounded on the armrest of his great chair and ordered that there be silence. The room was soon quiet again.

"Princess, as much as we would like to help you," he lied, "we cannot spare any soldiers for a war that cannot be won."

"Cannot be won? Listen, you-" Mario began to yell, but stopped short when Daisy turned to him quickly. If looks could kill, Mario would have dropped dead right then and there, for she had given him the coldest, most piercing glare possible. He fell silent. It was very unwise to upset the Grand Council, whom could be just as dangerous as Bowser Koopa himself.

"I beg your pardon, Sir? You can't spare any soldiers? You know as well as I do that Sarasaland's army is very large, and with all due respect, I say that you aren't telling the truth," she said, growing more impatient with the man.

He seemed to ponder his next statement carefully, "Princess, this is not our fight. We have no reason to fight and lose men in a war that isn't for us."

"But he'll come. With his new strength, he could come to you, and crush Sarasaland just like he did to the Mushroom Kingdom!" Luigi announced, pounding one fist into the other to emphasize his point, "If we don't defeat him, he'll spread throughout the world. There won't be anything left in his way, and we'll all be either dead or his slaves. That includes you as well, sir.

If you don't help, you're sentencing us all to death."

The council chamber came alive with whisperings and hushed speaking. What should they do? Would Bowser really come for them all as well? Could they really afford to lose any soldiers in this war?

"You must leave for now, we will decide what is to be done tomorrow afternoon," the grand councilman said, stroking his beard thoughtfully, "You are all dismissed..."

Each of the four bowed in turn, and left the chamber swiftly.

"Luigi, you really nailed 'em," Mario said as they walked down the hall and back to the lobby, where the others were waiting, "they're gonna have something to think about tonight, I say." Mario was impressed by Luigi's apparent political prowess.

"Ah, it was nothing..."

"Really though, you were great. You've brought up a very good point, actually. If it weren't for you, we'd probably be leaving with nothing," Peach said, smiling at him, "thank you."

"I only told the truth. If Bowser took over one Kingdom, he could very well take them all..."

Once they entered the lobby again, Toad launched himself out of his chair and bounced over to where the foursome stood, waving his arms excitedly, "Did you tell them? Are they going to help?"

"We aren't sure yet. We hope so," Daisy answered, sighing, "They still have to decide. They're going to tell us tomorrow."

"Agh!" Toad exclaimed, "Things take too long around here! You were in there almost two hours! And now they still have to spend a night on it, too? Sheesh!"

Mario couldn't help but chuckle at the mushroom boy's exclamation and impatience. Toad always reminded him of himself when he was younger, Mario thought. He used to be carefree, happy-go-lucky. But, he had changed; constant battles against Bowser had hardened him slightly, making him more aware of the world. How he longed to be as carefree as he once was, waging tennis battles instead of full-scale wars.

"Mario? You okay?"

Mario snapped back to reality when Toad spoke loudly to catch his attention, waving his hands in Mario's face, "You kind of blanked out there for a second," he said, laughing. He turned around and threw himself back onto one of the plush chairs again, sighing contentedly.

"Where are we going to stay, your Highness?" Toadette inquired, tugging slightly at Peach's sleeve, "if they are going to decide tomorrow, we will need to stay the night."

"That's right, isn't it, Toadette - Oh, call me Peach, by the way," Peach said, and turned to Daisy, "But really, where -are- we going to stay?"

"Hmm, well, I say you're going to stay here in the palace. Hopefully they haven't torn down the guest rooms, or anything stupid like that..." Daisy said, rolling her eyes, "I'll show you all there anyway, you probably need some rest."

She motioned for them to follow her, and they did so, following close behind in the empty hallways of the palace. They were long and tedious, with a high ceiling, and many detailed wooden doors dotting each side of the hallway, presumably leading to the different guest rooms. Daisy stopped in the middle of the hallway, standing with her hands on her hips.

"Pick a door, any door," she said simply. Each of them glanced at one another briefly, and each picked a room to spend the night in. Once they had all disappeared into a room, Daisy turned in to one herself. There was very little chance of her staying in her own room, anyway. There's no doubt that either one of the councilmen had taken over it, or it was an office or something.

"Damn council," she muttered, sitting on the bed.

She hadn't noticed the shadow behind her until it was too late, and whoever it was had wrapped his arm around her waist and covered her mouth. She kicked and struggled against the shadow, but it held tight to her, intent on keeping her in his hold.

It chuckled slightly, holding her tighter still, and hissed quietly in her ear, "Greetings from Koopa. He'll be happy to see you. In fact, he has a surprise for all of you. It's simply to -die- for."

He cackled, and at once Daisy knew who it was. She knew what he was talking about. She knew what was going to happen.

They were going to visit Bowser, and they wouldn't be coming back.


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Awaiting Fate

Chapter 14: Awaiting Fate

Kamek dashed through the crowds of Koopa Troopas, pushing and shoving every one that stood in his way. They did nothing, as Kamek was higher authority than they, and could have them zapped out of existence at the drop of a hat. The Troopas merely exchanged annoyed glances and moved aside, letting the overexcited Magikoopa make his way to King Koopa's Airship, parked conveniently next to his new castle.

Bowser's Castle was hardly built, but there were a few walls standing where Princess Peach's Castle once stood. The cold grey stones were piled up nearby, waiting to be stacked upon what already stood, creating Bowser's grand new castle. The construction had been postponed temporarily, for what reason Kamek had no clue, but hadn't questioned Bowser. Nobody ever did.

Soon enough, Kamek reached the ship, out of breath. But his physical challenge hadn't ended yet.

He still needed to climb into it. And the ship's hull alone was unexplainably tall.

Kamek growled, cursing the fact that he had forgotten his broom at the watch tower in his excitement, and reached for the rope ladder that lead from the ground to the deck. Rung by rung, he slowly climbed up, pausing every now and then to take a breath, and eventually reached the edge of the hull. He threw his body over the edge and rolled onto the deck, panting and wheezing.

"Is anything wrong, sir?" came a voice from above him, and a paratroopa swooped down beside him, causing Kamek's cap to rustle in the wind created by his wings. Kamek stood up shakily, breathing deep, shuddering breaths, and straightened himself up in an attempt to make himself look slightly more regal. It was certainly better than lying on the ground wheezing, in the way of stature.

"Don't you have a job to do, Parakarry?" Kamek huffed, looking the Paratroopa straight in the eye, "we offered you a job, now do it, unless you want to land yourself a place in the dungeons."

Parakarry bowed stiffly, uttering an apology before flying off. He had duties to take care of, if he wanted to keep his head. Kamek watched Parakarry fly off, and was suddenly startled by the realization of why he was there, and rushed down below deck to find the King.

Bowser's chamber was guarded by the Hammer Brothers, whom held out their hammers in front of them, blocking Kamek.

"The King wishes not to be disturbed!" they said simultaneously, nodding their heads in coordination and growling when Kamek tried to take another step.

"I am Kamek, the Chief Magikoopa, and more than you two fools will ever be. I demand that you let me through this door!"

"We can't do that, the KING'S demands are far more important then that of the Chief Magikoopa."

Kamek snarled and whipped out a scepter from the folds of his gown. The Hammer Brothers were cowards, even a goomba knew that, and would dash away at any threat. The scepter that Kamek held was not his, as Bowser Junior had taken it, but merely one of the treasures he had managed to snatch from Peach's Castle before it was destroyed. He knew the Hammer Brothers would run once it was pointed at them, and he wouldn't have to do any magic. He couldn't anyway, without his proper scepter.

And run they did.

Kamek pocketed the scepter once again, very pleased with himself, and threw open the doors to Bowser's Chamber. He dashed along the red carpet to the throne, where Bowser sat. Kamek stopped abruptly when he saw Bowser rise to his feet, and take a few steps towards him.

"Didn't they tell you I didn't wish to be disturbed?"

Kamek opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't get any words out, and swallowed them as Bowser's shadow engulfed him. The Koopa King swept Kamek off his feet and pinned him against the wall roughly, causing it to shake and creak. He roared and bared his teeth, only a few inches from Kamek's face, before speaking again.

"How'd you like it if I killed you right now?" he bellowed, snapping his enormous jaws at Kamek's nose, causing him to draw back as far as he could and shudder in fear. Amused, Bowser smirked at his old caregiver, and dropped him to the floor, "Now Kamek, I wouldn't kill you just yet. You're too useful right now."

Kamek was half-relieved, half-terrified when he was dropped onto the old wood floor, and sighed shakily. He hated how Bowser would play mind tricks like that. He enjoyed watching his victim suffer, and kill them long after they had been tormented in such a way. Once again, he remembered why he was there, what he was doing, and what he had to say.

"Sire! We have them!"

"What? Have who?"

"The Mario Brothers, sire! The Princesses as well!" Kamek burst excitedly, "Waluigi and his team tracked them to the Sarasaland Palace, and caught them! They're on their way in Ship 12 as we speak!"

Much to Kamek's surprise, Bowser showed no emotion. Not excitement, as he did, not anger, not vengeance, not sadness. He stood over Kamek like a great black statue, motionless and solemn. After many minutes of silence, Bowser finally spoke, but in a dull, flat voice:

"Is that so?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Be sure to lock them up right away, and send Waluigi to me upon his arrival," he said simply, twisting around and swiftly marching back to his throne in a few long strides.

"Now get out."

Kamek humbly obeyed, edging over to the massive doors and slipping through them, not facing away from the King the entire time. Once he was sure he was out of earshot, he snarled fiercely, and threw down his hat.

He didn't receive a reward at all for such news! The nerve of that King Koopa!

Since Bowser Junior had moved into Shiver City, there had been strange goings on.

Penguins seemed to disappear from their homes, their homes themselves robbed, but the doors still locked. It was a strange chain of crimes they couldn't solve, and they were getting very tired of it. Once the villagers realized that these happenings had taken place after Junior moved in, they began to campaign to get him out.

The mayor had declined their requests, and kept Junior locked within his very own home, to "protect him from the angry citizens". But Junior was an antsy type, and couldn't stay in for long, no matter how many cookies and treats the Mayor's wife would give him. He needed to get out before they knew what he had done. For he remembered the sharp beaks and dark eyes all too well from when he first landed in Shiver City, and wasn't very keen on having those beaks dig into his throat.

That evening, Junior planned to escape. Not so much escape, as disappear. Kamek's Scepter had allowed him to break into those houses and wreak havoc among the penguins, but at the price of them turning on him. They had done so, and he had to leave before they knew. The scepter was perfect in such a situation, and before he knew it, he was out of the Mayor's house and over the mountain once the sun peeked over the tips of the mountains and its light spilled into the valley.

"Wait..." the young koopa said to himself, as nobody else was around. An idea suddenly hit him. He could use Kamek's scepter to get back to the Mushroom Kingdom! He knew how the magic worked, as his family was quite skilled in the dark arts. All you had to do was move the wand around a little bit, and think of what effect you wanted, as well as saying it out loud.

So Junior held the scepter in front of him at arm's length, slowly waving it in a clockwise motion, while chanting to himself.

"Take me to my father, take me to my father, take me to my father..." he whispered, and held the scepter up above his head, "Take me to my father!" he yelled, and thrust the scepter downwards. Once it hit the ground, there was a bright light, and a popping noise.

Bowser Junior had disappeared, and all that was left of him on that cold, lonely hill was his laughter that was carried through the valley by the harsh winter breeze.

"You won't get away with this!"

"I already have, Princess. There's no doubt about that," came the calm reply from the other side of the room, "You're all as good as dead. In fact, that would be a real treat. But no, worse things will happen to the lot of you once we reach Koopa."

Peach bit her lip to keep from lashing at Waluigi with obscenities, and sat down on the rusty cot at the back of their cell. There was only one cell in the tiny airship, and each prisoner had been crammed into it together for the ride to the Mushroom Kingdom. So they all sat huddled together on the floor of the cell on one side of the bars, while Waluigi smirked at them like they were caged animals. He sat calmly on the other side of the bars on a stool, staring at each of them in the eye and smirking cruelly.

"I swear, once we get out of here, I'm going to kill him," Luigi said, shaking with both rage and fear at the same time.

"I wouldn't try that. You don't want your head in the same condition as your arm, would you?"

Luigi fell silent, but still glared at Waluigi from the corner of his eye. He was right, of course. Waluigi fought dirty, with those Piranha Plants.

"You can't even fight; you just get those damn Piranha Plants to do the dirty work. You couldn't fight like a real man if you tried!" Luigi yelled, standing up quickly and pointing at Waluigi with a shaking finger.

Waluigi suddenly stood up and strode over to the bars of the cell, staring Luigi straight in the eye and laughing loudly. Eventually he stopped, and a mocking expression took hold of his features as he leaned his face down to Luigi's level.

"You, sir, don't know anything about being a real man," he hissed, and laughed, turning around to leave, ignoring Luigi's enraged yelling behind him. He turned back around before he came to the stairs and spoke coldly to the group of prisoners huddled in the small cell.

"I hope you're ready to die, everyone, because we'll be there shortly."

And soon Waluigi was gone, having climbed the stairs to the deck, and left them alone to drown in misery.

"What're we gonna do?" Toad whimpered, and began to cry into Peach's dress, "I don't want to die!"

"None of us do, and none of us are going to," Mario said, trying to reassure them all, but they were beyond reassurance. The many days of running from Bowser, fighting, desperately trying to get away and nearly dying in the process had left their spirits weakened, and they had little or no will left. They had given up and accepted their fate.

"We are, aren't we?" Toadette said, "we are going to die."

"Don't say that! The Stars wouldn't let us come this far to fail!" Mario yelled, standing up, "they wouldn't let Bowser win, and let us die. We're the only hope they have left, and we WILL make it. Come on, who's with me!"

Mario's pep talk had no effect on the tired souls that lay sprawled out on the floor. They stared up at him silently, and Mario's heart shattered. They had given up!

"Come on, you aren't the friends I know. They would keep going; they would fight to survive until the bitter end. They would do what I'm doing."

They still sat in silence, but this time not even looking up at him.

"Alright, fine. If I don't know any of you, why am I talking to you? I'd better make a plan to survive now, shouldn't I?" Mario said, and dejectedly walked to the corner of the cell where nobody was, sitting down to think.

_They've given up. They're just going to sit there and let Bowser kill them. They're going to let themselves die..._ Mario thought, blinking back the stinging tears. Everyone he loved had given in, and were going to practically throw themselves at Bowser's feet for him to kill them. He was on his own to either convince them otherwise, or to save them from this fate, alone.

"Mario..."

Mario looked up to see Yoshi in front of him, his once bright eyes full of unshed tears, "Mario, Yoshi won't give up. Yoshi swore he'd protect you until the day Yoshi dies, and will go through with that."

A sliver of hope ran through Mario's heart, and he threw his arms around the dinosaur," Thank you, Yoshi." He let go soon after, and Yoshi moved back to his original spot beside Luigi.

"Mario," Princess Peach said, sitting down beside him, "Mario, I'm so sorry..."

"Sorry? Why should you be?"

"Mario, you know why. For not believing in you. For giving up," Peach sighed, looking down, "It just - It seems so hopeless. We're nearly there, miles up in the sky - meaning no way to escape - and Bowser wants us all dead. I mean, it's really a lose-lose scenario. I only have so much hope left after all this..."

"It's not hopeless. You've proved that," Mario said quietly.

"What?"

"You've proved that it isn't hopeless. You do have a -little- hope left, therefore it isn't hopeless. More like semi-hopeless."

"Now you're just being silly," Peach said, giggling ever so slightly, so slight that it was barely noticeable.

"Being silly is better than being hopeless, Princess."

"That's true. And I'd rather you be silly than hopeless..." Peach said, moving in front of him, "But Mario, I'm so scared," she cried, and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder, "What if we don't make it out alive?" came her muffled voice between sobs, and she tightened her hold on him.

Mario was surprised, but wrapped his arms around her tightly, pressing her body against his, "We will, Peach. We all will, I'll make sure of it," he whispered into her ear, "I won't let anything happen to you..."

"Well, isn't that just -adorable-" came a snide voice from down the hallway, and everyone's heads snapped towards the direction of the voice.

"Yeah, pity Daddy's gonna have to kill them, right?"

Seven koopas stepped out of the shadows of the darkened hallway, making their way over to the dark cell. Morton was first, coming as close as he could to the bars and peering in at them, "Well, will ya look at that? Mario's pulling the ol Romeo act, ain't 'e?"

"We thought even YOU could come up with something more original," Wendy said, playing with her bracelets casually, "Anyway, that's not why we're here."

"Yeah, we're just here to look upon the faces of the stars of tomorrow's execution. Imagine our surprise when we heard who it was! The very people who had tormented the Koopa Kingdom for a lifetime! What a delightful treat!" Ludwig laughed in mock-excitement, and reached through the bars to tug at Toad's arm, pulling him up against the bars and whispering quietly, "Here's a secret between you and I, Fungus. You're going to receive the worst punishment of them all. How would you like it if your organs were ripped from your body while you were still breathing, and then you were to be hung by your feet for three days until the Piranha Plants get you? Hmm? Oh - Don't you look excited! You're shaking with anticipation!"

Toad's skin had gone ashen, and he opened and closed his wide open mouth in shock at what Ludwig had told him. Was it true?

The Koopalings laughed, and Ludwig thrust Toad back into the cell, laughing equally as loudly.

"Don't believe him Toad, they're just trying to scare you," Luigi said in an attempt to calm the shaking mushroom boy, whom had rushed into Daisy's arms and sobbed uncontrollably, "Great bunch you are!" Luigi yelled, "You've nearly scared him half to death!"

"Oh have I? I'm so terribly sorry! I should've saved that extra bit of life for King Dad to take out of him himself, shouldn't I?" Ludwig laughed along with the chorus of laughter of the other Koopalings.

"Don't worry Luigi! We've saved an extra special bit for you! You are to have your legs chopped off, your heart ripped out and to be eaten by Bowser himself while you watch!" Wendy giggled, delighted by the panicked expression Luigi's face had acquired.

Before anyone else could have their fate told to them in such a gruesome way, the airship lurched and they suddenly stopped. The pounding of many feet outside met their ears, and told them that they had arrived at the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Oh goodie! We're here!" Lemmy squealed, and dashed up to the deck, along with his six siblings.

"Oh no..." came Yoshi's voice from the far corner, "We're here!"

"I don't really think this is the right thing to do..." Waluigi said, mostly to himself, as he sat down in a chair. He had returned to Wario and his makeshift garage again after meeting with Bowser and receiving his reward.

"What?" Wario asked from his seat in front of the TV, as he flipped through channels boredly, not even bothering to look at his brother.

"You know what. Turning them over like that."

"Oh that. Well, if there's a good enough reward, I'd have done it. How much did ya get?" Wario asked, finally turning to Waluigi briefly, but turning his attention back to the television half-a-second later.

"About ten grand. Not much for them, but I wouldn't argue with him. But - I don't know, it just seems so wrong. Worse than anything I've ever done, which is saying something. I bet they wouldn't do that to us."

"So? You've got money; you've got power, what more do you want? I'd say that's a damn good reason to do it. They wouldn't do that because they're all the disgustingly good type."

"Yeah but, they're going to -die- ... I've never been responsible for someone's death before."

"Welcome to my world, little brother. It's every man for himself out here now. If they can't take the heat, they'd better get out of the kitchen!"

"What's that supposed to mean? What are you, stupid? They didn't do anything to me. Except that damned Luigi."

"Well, there ya go! Luigi deserves to die then. He's actually done something, and they're all associated with him."

"You have the most terrible logic, Wario. How do I keep sane around you?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Wario said, "Wait! I know what this is all about."

"Do you now? That's a first."

"This is all about -her- You don't want to see her die."

"What?" Waluigi said, surprised, "What are you talking about? Who?"

"Come on, don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about! You're feeling guilty because she's going to die, and that's it's entirely your fault."

Waluigi said nothing, swiftly leaving the room. Wario watched him leave the garage and shook his head, turning back to the television again.


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Dinner with the Enemy

Chapter 15: Dinner with the Enemy

Each second felt like a minute, each minute like an hour, time dragged on as if it had nothing better to do. Time was taunting them; Time was torturing them, leaving them to wait as long as they possibly could have done.

They waited in the dark cell in the hold of the airship, dreading the moment when the king came to pay them a visit.

Yoshi was leaning with his ear against the wall, straining to hear the voices outside the ship. He managed to catch a few words, but strung together, they didn't make any sense. Still, the determined dinosaur kept pressed to the wall, in hopes of finding out what was going on. Toad's constant whimpering wasn't very helpful either, and Yoshi found himself turning to shush the boy constantly. Eventually, he decided that he wasn't getting anywhere, and slid down the wall, plopping onto the floor.

"Catch anything, Yoshi?" Luigi asked in the calmest voice he could manage, but it still squeaked slightly as a result of his anxiety.

"Nothing that makes sense, Mister Luigi, but I think they're going to take us to Bowser," Yoshi answered, shaking his head.

"Ah," Luigi mumbled. He was about to say something else, but shut his mouth quickly when the hatch to the deck opened, and light spilled down into their dark confinement.

"My friends! How wonderful for you to join me on such a fine day," came the Koopa King's voice, and sure enough, Bowser himself slowly descended the stairs. He looked different. He wasn't the same Bowser who came to capture the princess every day. He seemed wiser, bolder, and more dangerous. But most of all, regal.

Bowser had taken pride in his newfound glory, and took the opportunity to change his appearance. Since he was now the ruler of two kingdoms, he had to look the part. So he had stolen many fine treasures from throughout the Mushroom Kingdom, each worth its weight in gold. He wore newer spiky bands on his arms, with gold studs as opposed to the usual silver, he said it showed his advancement in stature, as if from mere silver to the most regal gold. Hanging loosely from one of his horns was a golden crown, obviously having once belonged to the king of The Mushroom Kingdom. He said it showed how he was able to take anything he wanted, including the kingdom, if he so desired it. And he wore a long, flowing cape of the deepest red.

"Oh my, you're looking rather down," Bowser said, frowning, "can I get you anything?"

"If at all possible, I'd like your head on a plate, Koopa."

"Ah Mario, that could prove to be difficult. Are you planning on taking it yourself?"

"I am, as a matter of fact."

"I see. Very difficult, I think. Especially when you're dead, wouldn't you agree?"

Mario said nothing, but stared the koopa in the eye. Bowser noticed something in Mario's eyes he'd never seen before, and it sent a sliver of panic through his heart. Hate. Loathing. Mario wanted him dead, he could see it. But Bowser wasn't one to let his fear show, and he smirked at the lowly souls huddled in his cell. He laughed slightly, "What's the matter Plumber? Cat got your tongue? Or have you finally admitted your defeat?"

Mario still said nothing, and retreated to the back of the cell, his cold blue eyes still fixed on Bowser, still holding that intense loathing Bowser feared so much.

Swallowing, Bowser started to speak again, "I trust some of you will join me for... Dinner," he chuckled, "I'll send for you later this evening, and you WILL come, unless you want to be the dinner yourselves. Good evening, my friends, and I will see you soon, you should hope." He then turned on his heel and swiftly climbed the stairs back to the deck.

Uncomfortable silence followed once the king had left the hold. None spoke, half out of fatigue, half out of nothing to say. The only sound was Toad's whimpering, and Toadette trying to calm him down, even though his sentiments matched hers exactly.

The night had grown unseasonably cold, and Waluigi was ultimately regretting walking out like that. But he wasn't one to come crawling back, at least not within the same half-hour as he had gone out.

He looked up to the sky, as he had heard something, but saw nothing. Nothing at all. Strangely enough, ever since Bowser had taken over the kingdom, there was nothing in the sky. During the day, there was no sun, at night, there was no moon, and no stars. There wasn't much of a difference between day and night, except during the day, the sky was a blood-red colour, and at night it was pitch black, with no light to guide them.

At this particular time, it was a dark red tint, letting very little light touch the ground as the hours grew late, and there was only an hour until what would be sunset, if there were a sun to begin with.

He sighed, muttering about how nosy Wario was, and sat down on a small stool inside a watch station. This watch station stood at the entrance to Forever Forest, and the cowardly guard had seemed to go mad by the spooks and specters that came to 'greet' him in the night. Waluigi, however, wasn't afraid of such ghosts (except when they threatened his life) but welcomed their company. They could be so much more interesting than the living sometimes, and no matter how strange it sounded, they were very lively spirits.

A recurring ghost was Bootler, the servant of Lady Bow. He had come wandering each night, searching for the cowardly guard. How he used to enjoy scaring the wits out of the poor mushroom man, but in the end it had led him to his madness. Bootler didn't know this, and still searched every night. A few times he had come across Waluigi, whom came by the forest now and then to brood, stopping to speak with Bootler for a while and leaving soon after midnight.

Bootler was searching that night, and Waluigi was there, so naturally, they met and began to converse between themselves.

"Good evening, Sir Waluigi," Bootler said haughtily, his British accent thicker than usual as he stiffly greeted Waluigi. He was answered by a nonchalant nod on Waluigi's part, "I trust you are well?"

"I don't think so, Bootler."

"May I ask why?" Bootler asked, curious as to why. He knew of the Mario Bros. capture, and he couldn't say whether he frowned upon it or not. He didn't like Mario himself, and positively loathed his brother, but his Lady was a big fan of the hero in red (not so much green) and he couldn't say no to his mistress.

"Well, it's hard to say," Waluigi began, taking his hat off and running a hand through his hair. He growled when he noticed a hole in his cap, made a mental note to fix it, and threw it back onto his head before continuing, "I mean, I've recieved... A lot of money for... well, you know. But, I think I'm having second thoughts."

"Second thoughts? You? Waluigi? I must say, that isn't quite fitting of your character. You're supposed to be vile, spiteful, evil. I'd say you aren't living up to your-"

"Put a sock in it, boo. I didn't ask for your damn opinion!" Waluigi hissed, glaring at the boo from the corner of his eye.

"I apologize. It was not my place," Bootler sniffed, floating around to Waluigi's other side to avoid being swatted, "May I ask why you're having these regrets?"

"Well, it's like killing someone you know. Actually, it really is. They're going to all die because of me. I'm not sure whether I should have done it now," Waluigi said, staring hard at the ground. He never thought he'd have any regrets for something like that. But they really weren't that bad to him or Wario. In fact, Wario and himself were invited to a great deal of the Mushroom Kingdom's activities. He could even call them friends, if he were that desperate.

"Ah, I see. Fair acquaintances may sometimes have an attachment to one's heart. But you've done them wrong. The guilt sets in, for you have committed a sin. "

"But I've never felt this way before, and trust me, I've committed my fair share of sins," Waluigi answered. He was starting to get confused. Were they really his friends? Should he help them get out of the situation he put them in? Was it really worth it to betray Bowser?

What if Bowser never found out?

"Bootler, I'm going to need your help," Waluigi said, standing up. He turned to the ghost and nodded, "I'll need you to help me get them out."

"Get them out? Whatever for?"

"You said it yourself, fair acquaintances can have an attachment to someone, and they're really more than acquaintances anyway."

"I understand. What would you like me to do, Sir?" Bootler said, bowing as best a boo could do, and floating over to Waluigi's other side.

"Just get me the key, and I'll do the rest."

Fice T. lifted a trembling hand to turn the key in the cell door, unlocking it for Bowser's 'Guests' so that he may escort them to his Majesty. He had since gone mad, and Bowser took the opportunity to recruit him for a guard. It was as if he had lost his free will, in losing his mind.

He muttered incoherently to himself as he fumbled with the lock and soon found it wide open. He stared into the dark cell, muttering louder to himself. He managed a few words, "Come...Now..."

They all got up, but Fice T. held up a hand, signaling for them to stop, "No..."

He then pointed out who was to follow him. His trembling finger pointed to Mario, then Luigi, Princess Peach, Daisy and Yoshi. They remainder was to remain in the cell until they returned, if they ever returned. So the aforementioned followed the mushroom man out of the cell, and up the stairs to the deck.

As soon as they reached the surface, Mario gasped and stared up. The sky was pitch black, there was nothing. No stars, no moon. No light at all, the only illumination being the torch Fice T. held as far away from himself as possible. They soon found themselves descending another flight of stairs, and were led through two large doors, which slammed shut behind them, and at once the room lit up with flames.

Bowser sat at the end of the very long table, and had just lit the chandelier above with is fiery breath. He smirked and sat back in his chair, rapping his sharp claws on the table, "Well, sit," he said simply, motioning to the five empty chairs along the length of the table.

The five reluctantly took their seats, keeping a watchful eye on the Koopa King at all times. They knew Bowser had the upper hand, as none of them could make a run for it, or attack him in time, because the perimeter of the room was lined with armored Koopas. They could snap any one of them in two if the event called for it, so Mario decided he'd rather not run the chance.

"Do eat, It's taken the cooks all evening to prepare the food. Now, I trust you've all been well?" Bowser said, chuckling maliciously and taking a bite of his spiked pear. He wrinkled his nose at the sweet taste, and chucked it down the table at Yoshi, "Here Yoshi, a little treat for you!"

Yoshi whimpered piteously after the pear struck him, the spikes having pierced the skin slightly below his eye, and he grabbed the pear and prepared to throw it back at Bowser.

"Uh Uh Uh," Bowser tutted, shaking a finger," I wouldn't do that, dino."

Yoshi dropped the pear as the Koopas closed in on him, brandishing their weapons menacingly. He yelped, and Bowser laughed, signaling for the Koopas to stand by instead.

"Bowser, you're not even fit to be called an animal," Daisy spat, glaring at the hulking koopa that sat down the table.

He casually took a bite out of his penguin wing, swallowing noisily and turning to her, "Why thank you Princess, I'd rather not be called an animal myself. I appreciate your compliment."

He received no answer from her, and she merely glared at him from the corner of her eye through the remainder of the meal.

"Bowser, what are you doing?" Peach asked, "Why are you doing this?"

"Why? You ask me why?" Bowser snapped, "What would you do if you were to spend your entire life in darkness, breathing smoke and ashes in each morning, instead of the clean fresh air you breathe. To hear frantic screaming and the roaring of flames instead of your precious songbirds?

Barren land, nothing for miles. That's all I've had my life, and you've had it all. People to love you, people to admire you. My people only saw me as the one who sealed their fate in that disgusting hell-hole. The one who watched them, the one whom they loathed, and had no respect for. I tell you, in capturing your precious Kingdom, I've regained my people, and so much more." Bowser then paused, wiping his muzzle with the back of a paw, "I've grown tired. Captain, escort my guests back their cell," he said, snapping his fingers.

An armored koopa nodded to the others, and each grabbed hold of a hostage, threatening them with their spears, and began to escort them out of the room.

"Sleep well, my friends. Enjoy your final night!" came Bowser's voice from the dining room, and his laugh floated through the halls long after they had left.

Top of Form


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Last Regrets

Chapter 16: Last Regrets

Wario grunted in annoyance as he was jolted awake by a sudden crashing upstairs. He hoisted himself up out of his chair, sending his bowl of chips to the floor. He made a mental note to have Waluigi clean it up, and climbed the stairs to the top floor of the house, which stood next to the garage. The previous owner had kept the house in good shape, so naturally, Wario and Waluigi took it, and had lived there ever since Bowser's overtaking. He stood on the staircase, yelling up to whoever made the racket.

"Hey! What the hell are you doin'? Some people are trying to sleep!" came his voice from halfway downstairs.

Waluigi rolled his eyes, ignoring his brother's cries as he climbed the remainder of the staircase. Soon Wario stood in the doorway, "Hey, where are you goin'?"

"Out," was all Waluigi said, as he stuffed a Piranha Plant into the bag he had set on the floor beside him. The bag was filled nearly to the brim with various items, fire flowers, Bob-Ombs, mushrooms, anything Waluigi could get his hands on, to help him in breaking the others out. He was still frantically searching the room for anything else that could help.

"'Out' you say? Where you goin' with those Plants and Bombs?" Wario asked, curious. It wasn't very often Waluigi showed such determination; he was usually passive, not caring about anything that didn't concern him. But lately, he had been a different person, first feeling guilty about what he had done, now taking off in such a manner made Wario concerned.

"Nowhere," Waluigi said, grabbing a key off the table, zipping the bag shut and making his way to the door. Wario saw this coming, and stepped in front of it, staring his brother down, "You ain't goin' anywhere until you tell me."

Waluigi looked up at Wario with his usual uninterested expression, and turned towards the window, walked to it in two strides and threw it open. The window opened onto the roof of the veranda, coincidentally, and Waluigi climbed out of the window and onto the roof. Wario had since made it to the window, and was still trying to get an answer out of Waluigi. He climbed out of the window with much difficulty, and Waluigi had already managed to climb down from the roof to the ground. He stood there, watching Wario try to make it through the relatively small window, which he found very amusing, and smirked when Wario finally made it through the opening and stood on the roof, pointing at Waluigi and yelling.

"Dammit! You tell me what you're doin'!" Wario yelled, and couldn't help feeling a bit stupid. He felt like a parent trying to keep an unruly teenager home when he's grounded. He shook off this feeling and took a step forwards. Unfortunately, he had stepped onto a ball that was left there by some careless child before Bowser's reign, and he found himself tumbling forward, off the roof and into a bush.

Waluigi blinked and stared at the bush, which held a newly-grounded Wario, whom spat leaves every which way and was clearly unhurt. But did he look mad; but also preoccupied. Waluigi took this opportunity to make a break for it, and ran down the street towards Bowser's fleet, ignoring Wario's enraged yelling behind him. He knew Wario was giving chase, and he also knew that anyone could outrun Wario.

"Damn," Wario grunted after he caught his breath again. He had chased Waluigi halfway to Bowser's fleet when his lack of fitness got the better of him, and he stopped to catch his breath. He spotted a Koopa Troopa nearby, before he could get away, Wario called him back, and the Troopa reluctantly obeyed.

"Listen, you know that Waluigi, right?" Wario asked.

The Troopa nodded in response.

"Oh do ya now? Good," Wario began, pulling the troopa closer to him and speaking in a hushed voice, "Listen, I need you to, keep an eye on 'im for me," he said, waving a fifty coin note in front of the troopa's bill.

The troopa nodded eagerly, snatching the note from Wario's gloved hand, "Ah, you have a deal, sir. I suspect you want me to report back?"

"ASAP."

The troopa saluted his new employer, "I'll get right on it!" he said, before rushing down the street in pursuit of Waluigi.

Wario knew it was a sneaky, underhanded thing to do, spying on his brother, but he convinced himself it was for the best. He was concerned about his little brother, and his sense of judgment hadn't been the best lately. He just hoped he wasn't doing something stupid.

Clink.

Miss.

Clink.

Clink.

"Will you stop that?" Mario snapped, snatching the stone from Luigi's hand before he managed to throw it against the bars again. The constant clinking of whenever he managed to hit it was aggravating him even further; he was ready to snap any minute.

Luigi glared at his brother, but still didn't say anything. He hadn't said anything since their dinner with Bowser hours before. Time still dragged on, it was nearly 2 AM. Only Mario, Luigi and Toad remained awake, as the effect of their many sleepless nights had taken its toll on the others. Toad refused to sleep. He said he wanted to live his last hours awake. He didn't want to waste the rest of his time.

Luigi looked at Toad, who sat trembling in the corner opposite him. Looking at the young boy tugged at his heartstrings painfully, as Toad was so young. He still had so many things to live for! He had barely begun to live his life, and it was going to be so painfully cut short, he stil had so many things to do. Grow up, fall in love, become Chancellor (it was his lifelong dream), and live his final years on Isle Delfino. He said he had it all planned. But his plan had gone up in smoke, quite literally, and he was supposed to die the very next day, along with all those he loved.

"Damn that Bowser..." Luigi said. He didn't mean to say it out loud, and didn't know he had until he heard Mario speak.

"Damn him to Hell..."

"I don't think he even deserves to go to hell. It's much too good for him, in my opinion," Luigi answered, growing angrier with each word he spoke. His fist clenched and he closed his eyes to prevent the tears from falling. They still came through, and he squeezed them even tighter. Still, the tears came, and soon enough Luigi found himself sobbing.

Not for himself, not for his life. For theirs. For everyone's. His brother, his friends, even those he didn't know. For everyone that Bowser had made suffer. He forced himself to stop when he heard Mario tell him to stop crying. He said he'd get Bowser.

"No," Luigi said, causing Mario to stare at him strangely. Was he saying that Bowser didn't deserve this punishment? "No, we'll both get him."

Mario nodded, and Luigi glanced at Daisy quickly before turning back to Mario, "But what if --- What if we can't do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if we don't get him? What if we all still-" he swallowed, not wanting to say the words, "die."

"Die? Us? We're the Super Mario Brothers, Luigi! We won't die!"

"Even heroes can lose, Mario."

Luigi's words brought a change in Mario's opinion. There was the possibility of them losing, wasn't there? In fact, the chance of them losing was greater than the chance of them winning. Bowser was nearly three times the size of any man, with claws sharper than any blade. They could slice a person clean down the middle in one stroke, or he could use his inhuman strength to snap one in two if he really wanted to. And he wasn't stupid, there was no fooling this koopa. He'd find out sooner or later, and you would suffer one of the aforementioned fates. Bowser Koopa was a force to be reckoned with, that was sure.

Mario bit his lip, trying to think of an appropriate response, but found none. He sighed, "You're right," and slumped back against the bars. He soon found his eyelids drooping, and would've fallen asleep if it weren't for the fact that he was grabbed through the bars and pulled against them, his back turned to his assailant. He would've yelled, but a hand clamped over his mouth.

"Be quiet!" the voice hissed through clenched teeth, and Mario knew who it was, but he couldn't believe it. Obviously Luigi couldn't either, and opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off before the first word rolled off his tongue, "I'm here to help! Shut up!"

It wasn't the friendliest offer Mario had heard, but it was better than none at all.

His assailant let go of him, and Mario stood up and whirled around to face Waluigi, "What the hell do you want?"

"That's a real fine way to treat your ticket out of here, isn't it?" came Waluigi's reply.

"What are you talking about?" Luigi asked, clearly confused. Waluigi was the one who landed them in Bowser's dungeon in the first place, why should he let them out? "What do you think you're doing? Didn't you-"

"I'm just as surprised as you are. Now shut up and listen to me, don't ask any questions," Waluigi said. The remainder of the prisoners had been roused by the argument between the three, save for Birdo, whom was shaken awake by Yoshi. They all needed to hear what he was going to say or the entire plan would fail, they would die, and Waluigi himself would be killed for treason.

"Okay, you all want out, right," He snapped, obviously eager to get the whole ordeal over with, "Listen, all You have to do is get out of here as fast as possible, and don't come back. Simple? I've knocked a few guards off, so the going should be pretty easy," Waluigi said, fumbling with the key and shoving it into the lock. He still didn't know why he was doing this, and the panic was setting in. If the king found out... well, he could say goodbye to living the high life he wanted.

"Why are you helping us?" Daisy asked. Her expression changed from curious to anger in a split second, "This is just a sick little trick of yours, isn't it?"

"I wish it were, and then maybe I wouldn't be so scared," Waluigi said, and regretted it. He hadn't meant to let that slip out. Usually he was so good at hiding things like that. He hoped none of them had noticed, he hated it when his weaknesses got out like that.

"You're scared?" Yoshi asked. So much for keeping that a secret.

Waluigi rolled his eyes, "Fine, I guess I am. A little" he snapped.

"Waluigi..." Daisy said quietly. Waluigi's heart (or whatever he had) couldn't help but give a slight pang in the way she said his name.

"Yes?" he said, grinning and leaning closer.

"Open the damn door!"

His heart sank back down again and he glared at her, opening the lock and swinging the door wide open, "Get the hell out of here now." he said to them, and they filed out one by one, a 'thank you' muttered quietly.

"Waluigi, thank you. You truly aren't as bad as I thought you were," Luigi said, slightly embarrassed.

Waluigi waved it off as he always did, his listless personality getting the better of him again, a faint 'Whatever' mumbled in between, and he turned away from Luigi. Luigi shrugged and followed the others.

The starless night was an excellent cover for them, as nobody could see a single thing, lest they had a torch of some sort. But they could easily get lost, or bump into the wrong people, so they had to be careful. They held each other's hands, a childlike method, but it was effective, as they couldn't lose one another in the darkness.

"I hope they know what they're doing," Waluigi said, shaking his head. He had to get out of there, before someone found him. He glanced back at the prisoners he had released, and let out a strangled yelp. They were heading straight to the staircase to Bowser's throne room!

"Shit," he muttered, dashing after them. _So much for this being quick and easy._

He didn't see the Koopa Troopa huddled in the darkness, the very troopa Wario had sent to watch Waluigi. He knew the information he needed, and was determined to get back to Wario before he was found. He dashed out of the cells, running full speed, but was stopped abruptly by a large object blocking his path.

"What are you doing out here?" Bowser's voice came down on him, his hot breath pouring down on the troopa. In the faint light of the torches in the dungeon, he saw the door. It was wide open, and the prisoners were gone. At once Bowser came down on the troopa, lifting it high above his head and roaring ferociously. The troopa seemed ready to shake right out of his shell and into the ground, he was so terrified.

"Where are they?" he roared, "What have you done?"

"It wasn't me!" the troopa cried in defense, crying out in pain when Bowser twisted his arm around in a way it really shouldn't bend.

"Who, then? Tell me before I rip your arm clean off!"

"Wa-Wa---"

"Wa, what?" Bowser said, twisting it a little further.

"Waluigi!" came the distressed cry, and the troopa was dropped to the ground. He lay there, gasping in pain, and Bowser merely shoved him aside with a foot.

"Waluigi," Bowser growled. He then took off along the length of the airship. They coudn't have gone far, he could still scent them in the air. They were still on the ship. He sniffed around a bit. The scent led him down the stairs to his own throne room. Perfect. They were cornered.

He leapt down the stairs in one bound, and found himself face to face with the very prisoners he was in pursuit of. They stood below him, terrified, and he straightened up to his full height, in hopes of looking intimidating.

"So, the cat has caught the mouse," he chuckled, and turned to Waluigi, "And you, Waluigi. You have made a very grave mistake. I think you'll have to pay for that."

Waluigi said nothing. He couldn't. His throat was constricted with a petrifying fear. A fear of the inevitable. He knew exactly what would happen next, and decided to mentally brace himself for it. He thought he may as well brace himself physically too, because this could prove to be pretty painful. At least he'd be going to a better place, right? He'd done so many terrible things though, maybe he wouldn't? No, this should make up for all that. Yes, he was definitely sure things would be better.

He wished Bowser would hurry up. Time was playing with them again. The massive koopa's paw rose into the air so slowly that they could have run away and been far off by now. It slowly swung downwards. Finally, he thought, it was about time. Bowser's eyes flashed with anger at Waluigi's betrayal, and at that last second of life, Waluigi swore he saw a flicker of enjoyment in the king's eyes. Enjoyment? He was enjoying killing him?

He heard a faint scream. It was so far away. It took a moment of thought, be he soon recognized it as his own voice crying out in pain. Everything seemed so far away now, as if he had left his body and was rushing backwards from it at an incredible speed.

Unfortunately for him, he still felt the pain.

Bowser's sharp claws raked across Waluigi's chest, tearing at his clothes, and more importantly at his flesh. He gasped in pain, unable to cry out again due to the petrifying fear from earlier. All he managed to get out was a faint groan, and he fell to the floor of the airship. His blood had already formed a puddle around him, and needless to say, he found it very unsettling. He lay gasping in pain, watching Bowser's satisfied smirk through half-closed eyes, watching him bask in the glory of his death. He turned his head away from those malicious eyes and to those of the people he had given his life to save, and he focused on those blue eyes he wanted to be lost in. And Daisy looked back into his.

Soon his vision faded, and he saw no more.

Silence.

Bowser licked the blood off his claws, "My, that really was some messy business, wasn't it? I do think we're going to have a massive cleanup after this is over with, don't you think?

Now, who's next?"


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Death of a Hero

Chapter 17: Death of a Hero

"What are you talking about?" Wario asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion.

"I'm sorry, he's dead..." the hired Koopa Troopa said, shaking his head slowly. He had run swiftly from the Airship fleet to relay the news to Wario. Waluigi had been killed by Bowser himself, he said, "I saw it with my own eyes. Koopa slashed him to death. I'm so sorry, sir."

"No," Wario said, laughing slightly, "He isn't dead. He can't be dead."

The Troopa shook his head again, "No sir, he's--"

"No. He can't die. Hah! And to think I actually believed ya for a minute! Hah!"

"I--"

"He can't die! It's impossible!" Wario said, hysterical, and slammed the door in the troopa's face. He then stomped away from the door and was about to climb the stairs when the doorbell sounded again. Its cheerful chime drifted through the house, and he suddenly despised it. How can something be so happy at the time like this. If his brother really was dead...

He strode back to the door and whipped it open, glaring back into the violet eyes of the Troopa. The Troopa winced under the huge man's glare, but still stood firmly. He lowered his head, and took something out from underneath his shell.

It was a cap. It would be in perfect condition, were it not for the few splotches of blood that speckled the brim of the hat. It was such a simple clue, but it gave Wario the information he needed.

His brother was indeed dead.

The Troopa stared at Wario for a moment, and promptly turned to leave. Wario stood in the doorway, his eyes still fixed on the cap he held in his hands. He was...gone. He closed the door slowly, and turned into the next room, sinking into a chair by the window. He really was dead.

"You- you killed him!" Daisy managed to say, horrified.

"Yes, and it's a good thing too. You wouldn't want nasty vermin like him running rampant, would you Princess?" Bowser said, smirking at her. When he received no answer, he took a step forward, causing them all to step backward slightly. They each stood pressed against the wall, and Bowser couldn't help but laugh at their helplessness.

"So, who's next? You have a personal preference, or can I just pick?" Bowser asked, his teeth shining even in the complete darkness. He wanted to take each of them down himself. That way, he could receive the satisfaction himself, as opposed to having his army take them out. But, he decided he'd better restrain them somehow.

The Koopa King snapped his fingers, and almost immediately, troopas closed in on them, brandishing their weapons menacingly. He then began a little rhyme, pointing at each of them with each word.

"Eeny meeny miney mo, Catch a goomba by the toe, If he growls, let him go. Eeny meeny miney mo," he finished, and his clawed finger rested on Luigi.

"Let's go, string bean." Bowser said, pulling Luigi forward by the collar, and swiping at Mario, whom had tried to stop him, "Damn it, plumber!" he yelled at the grounded Mario, "Stay out of this!" And when Mario finally got to his feet, he found a spear pointed at his throat, preventing him from moving.

Koopa thrust Luigi away from him, and he stumbled a bit before standing upright. "Come on, you pathetic little man, kill me," Bowser said.

Luigi stood still, glancing back at his friends. They cried out to him, "Don't do it Luigi! Let me get him. Be careful," before being cut off by the Troopas, whom silenced them by pressing the flat of the blades against their throats. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to block out their distressed cries. This was it; he had to get Bowser, for them.

Once he opened his eyes, he fixed his gaze on Bowser's face. His malicious smile, his twisted expression, his blood red eyes. But his smile is what enraged Luigi the most, his twisted enjoyment of their torture. He lifted a hand, and a small ball of electricity began to take form in the palm. As it grew, the smile on Bowser's face began to fade more and more, until it was completely gone. And once it was gone, the electricity flew from Luigi's glove towards the King, whose sluggish movement kept him from dodging it.

The ball hit him on the side of the head, burning him from the eye down to his lower jaw. He lifted a paw to touch his face, drawing back quickly and growling fiercely. He quickly lunged at Luigi, catching him by the arm and pinning him against the wall.

"Is this it, boy? Is this the way you envisioned the end of your life? No? Did you really think it would be any different? Did you really expect to live a long life, far away and happily ever after? If that's the case, then I'm afraid you're going to be very, very disappointed by the ending of this story," Bowser said, running a claw over Luigi's throat, not enough to break the skin, but enough to cause him to shudder slightly.

But Luigi still glared deep into the king's one open eye, and spat, "No. I'd like to die killing you."

"Suit yourself," Bowser said, and once again raised his claws to strike at Luigi. But he was ready, and rolled out underneath the koopa's legs. By the time Bowser had turned around, Luigi had formed another ball of electricity and fired it straight at Bowser's other eye. But he blocked it with a paw, sending it ricocheting back at its original master, hitting him in the shoulder.

"It's time to end this now," Bowser said, swiping at Luigi again, this time getting him across the cheek. It wasn't a fatal blow, but it knocked him to the ground. Luigi heard his brother's enraged yelling, but didn't really pay attention, as he was watching Bowser move in on him. The Koopa King raised his paw again, ready to kill Luigi in one blow, and Luigi shut his eyes tight, trying to block out the frantic yelling from behind him, and Bowser's twisted grin.

He heard clanking of metal, a roar, flames, and was sure that he was dead.

But when he opened his eyes again, he realized that he wasn't, and rose to his feet shakily, scanning the area for Bowser. He was getting up again a few feet away, snarling at Mario. Mario? He and the others had freed themselves from the troopas, sending them to the ground, and Mario had shot fire at Bowser just before he slashed Luigi into ribbons. But with another snap of the fingers, Bowser's troops had once again arrived on the scene, with their spears pressed against their throats once more. But not Mario.

"Mario?" Bowser wheezed, rubbing his scorched arm, "I told you not to get involved."

"Do you think I'm really going to listen to you?" Mario said, standing defiantly, forming another ball of fire in his hand. He tossed it at Bowser, catching him on the shell, where it fizzled out, unable to penetrate the Koopa King's defenses.

"Did you really think that you could defeat me with that? Really Mario, I thought you knew me better!" Bowser snarled, racing forward at such a speed that Mario never thought he possessed. So he was unprepared for Bowser's attack, and was caught by the throat and lifted into the air. Bowser's sulfur-like smell wafted from his mouth as he breathed heavily onto Mario. He leaned in close and focused on those hate-filled eyes of Mario's that he so feared. But the fear was melting away as he held him so close to death; he was overconfident, blinded by his desire to see Mario and all those he loved dead at his very own claws. And Mario's hateful gaze was no longer a threat as Bowser threw him off the ship to the ground below, knocking the wind clear out of him. Bowser jumped from the deck of the airship to the ground, causing it to shake. He stood over Mario, who had dragged himself up against one of the half-constructed walls of Bowser's new castle.

As if on cue, the endless void that was once the sky opened, and rain poured down on them, pounding down so hard that it seemed to create a glowing halo around each of them. Bowser spoke, but had to do so loudly in order to be heard.

"It's funny, Mario. How something that's been going on so long can end so abruptly. The day the world ends will come as a surprise, even though every person knew it would come, and after something being around for so long, you'll think it will stay forever. But everything must end, shouldn't it? Endless feuds are harmful to others, more than those involved in this feud. Consumed by a lust for power, a struggle lasts longer than life itself.

So I end this here, and now. To end the struggle between the Toadstools and the Koopas so that no more shall we suffer. No more will people be harmed by the feuds between you and I, Mario. Never again will you destroy all I've worked for! This is the End - The End of the Great Super Mario!" Bowser yelled, laughing. He spouted a halo of flames from his mouth, but stopped when he heard a shout from above. It was Princess Peach, and she tossed something down from the deck of the airship.

It was a Mushroom. She had snatched it from the bag Waluigi had brought, and sent it down to Mario. It landed a few feet away and he dashed towards it, grabbing it and taking a mouthful. Bowser growled out a "No!" and ran forward, but stopped abruptly.

The Mushroom had given Mario strength. Ten times his original strength. So he took one last look up at the airship, and his friends and family, turned back to Bowser and said, "You were right. It is over."

And he slammed his fist against the half-built wall, causing it to crumble from that point. First came the top bricks, which knocked down the rest. Bowser only lived a few seconds after that, and the last thing he saw were those eyes. But they were no longer filled with that hate, but accomplishment. He had succeeded in his goal. Bowser's eyes went wide and soon he was covered in the stones, never to see the light of the day again.

But Mario suffered that fate as well. When the stones tumbled down, he was caught under them along with the Koopa King.

"No!" Luigi yelled, breaking free of the troopa's hold. He rushed to the railing of the deck, along with the rest of them. The troopas had scattered; unable to do anything without the direction of their King.

The rain slowed down, but still pounded on them as the stared down at the pile of stones, watching, waiting. Waiting for Mario to be alright, waiting for him to crawl out of the rubble. Waiting for him to come out and laugh, cracking a joke to throw off the seriousness of the situation. But he never came.

Luigi and the others climbed down the hull and dashed to the rubble. In a panicked frenzy, they threw stones aside, trying to find Mario's body among the stones of Bowser's castle. Tossing one last stone into the mud, Yoshi found Mario's limp hand. He gasped, lifting a few more stones out of the way and called for help, and a few others came to his aid, finally uncovering Mario and dragging him out onto the muddy ground. Luigi felt his neck for a pulse.

There was none.

He checked Mario's wrist.

There was none.

He was dead.


	18. Chapter Eighteen: And then there was One

Chapter 18: And Then There Was One

The sun hung low over the horizon, casting an orange glow over the grass, the evening dew shining brilliantly on each blade. The clouds shone a vibrant pink, forming a curtain between the sky and the earth. Anyone who lived there would say it's ordinary, but anyone else would be awestruck by the beauty that folded out over the hills and valleys of the Mushroom Kingdom.

The Princess' Castle stood over Toad Town, watching over it carefully, like a mother watches over its child. Its pearly white bricks glowing with heavenly light, reflecting the sun's light, making it seem too beautiful to be real. A magnificent stained-glass window was displayed over the grand doors, a work of art depicting the Kingdom's Princess.

The Grand Council of Sarasaland had indeed decided to aide the Mushroom Kingdom, but the army had been delivered moments too late. Bowser had already been killed, and the Sarasans were disappointed in missing the fight. They did, however, round up the remaining koopa troopas that still fought without the command of their King, and brought them to the dungeons of the Great Palace of Four Kingdoms, where they remained until their executions. Kamek himself was captured, but he pleaded innocence to the crimes he was accused of. King Bowser II asked that he hold Kamek in his dungeons for thirteen months, and at that point he would be released to work at the restoration of the Mushroom Kingdom, and later, Koopa Kingdom. Sarasaland accepted the rule of the Princess once more, as she had proven her worth to the kingdom, it had been agreed that they would continue the same way as they had before the death of the King, and Daisy's power would be returned to her on the day of her marriage.

The Koopa Kingdom had since become an ally of the Mushroom Kingdom and Sarasaland, now under the rule of King Bowser Koopa II. He was a just ruler, having since matured mentally and taken the throne once his siblings fled. They fled far over the hills, in belief that the Koopa dynasty was over, that they would likely be killed for being Bowser's children, and had never returned. This left only one child to take the throne, if he chose to do so. Bowser Junior ascended to the throne soon after, swearing on the day of his coronation that he would not go down the path that his father had. He always claimed to have a good heart, and was deceived and tricked into becoming Mario's enemy.

Instead of turning to conquering other kingdoms, Bowser II decided that they should work their land, make it beautiful, like Bowser always wanted, but had gone about it the wrong way. He closed down the mines, which had made the sky that grimy black and made the air thick with sulfur. It was true that the heat would remain, as they lived near an active volcano, but he insisted that their race was built for such temperatures.

And so began the Koopa's quest to restore their kingdom.

It was as if nothing had happened.

But everyone knew that it had.

One year had passed. It was the anniversary of the day they had won the kingdom back. A year since the nightmare had come to an end. A year since Mario's death.

They called it "The Hero's Memorial"; a day for the kingdom's citizens to rest, to reflect, to remember. To remember the Hero, to remember The Great Super Mario. To remember Waluigi. To remember all those who died to protect them, to make the kingdom beautiful again. It wasn't a day for sorrow, but a day for celebration. To celebrate the life of these heroes, to celebrate all they had done for them.

A great banquet was held on this day, in their honor. Mario, Waluigi and countless guards and citizens were honored at this banquet, countless row of flowers lined the halls, each with a name attached on a small gold card.

Roger Mannington...Fice Turnsee...Vanna Transowski...Anna Harson...

The names went on down the hallway, until you reach the end, where the grand doors led to the ballroom, where the banquet was being held. Before the doors, stood two large boquets, and displayed over them were portraits. These portraits portrayed Mario Mario and Waluigi Wario, the two men that had sacrificed all they had for the Kingdom. Beyond the doors was where the banquet had been held. It was over, and most of the guests had left. All that remained were a few maids and servants here and there, along with the Princess' closest friends. The servants were bustling about, cleaning up the large room.

Out on the large balcony, the servant's children sat in a circle around Luigi. They had begged him to tell them his account of what had happened, a full year ago, as well as he could remember. At first, he had been reluctant to do so, trying to ignore them and try to enjoy himself. But he soon realized that he was being followed, as pointed out to him several times. The children said that they refused to stand still, and would follow him until he told them the story.

So after another five minutes of the children following him, he politely excused himself, and walked out onto the balcony. Sitting down, he began to tell them the story, surprised that they hadn't heard of it before. Once he reached the end, the party had been long over, and the sun had set. Toad had since joined them out on the balcony, and was leaning against the railing of the balcony, listening to the retelling, even though he had lived it. The children hung on his every word, and once he finished his last sentence. They leaned forward, mouths agape, some with tears on their eyes, on edge.

"Is that the end? It can't possibly end there!"

"No, there's a little more..."

"Tell us! Did Mario live, did the kingdom get better?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Luigi asked, leaning back a bit.

"Well..."

"Think now, what are we celebrating today? Where are we living?"

"We're celebrating... When Mario defeated the Koopa King. We're living in the Mushroom Kingdom." one child said, smiling knowingly.

"Well, then what do you think the answer to your question is?" Luigi asked the child, chuckling slightly when he slipped into what looked like deep thought, and the girl beside him piped up.

"Yes! The Kingdom got better!" she cried, laughing and smiling, even when the boy beside glared at her.

"That's right."

"That can't be all! Tell us more!" another piped up, nodding eagerly.

"Ah, Toad, will you finish it off for me? My memory's been a little foggy lately," Luigi said, but he knew very well the ending of the story.

"And they all lived happily ever after," Toad said.

"For the most part," Luigi added, chuckling, "You know, kids, it's getting late. It's way past your bedtime!" he said, glancing at his watch quickly and standing up. Toad then stood up and shooed them off the balcony and back into the Hall.

They made sounds of protest, but turned and trudged back into the banquet hall, shuffling their feet and whispering amongst themselves about the story. To them, it was a fairytale, a story made to entertain them. They didn't know the horror they had endured, the pain that they had gone through, that they relived on that very day.

"A whole year..." Luigi sighed, leaning against the railing of the balcony. He stared up at the sky, blinking back the tears, making the stars blur out and come back into focus, only to be blurred out again. He reached up and brushed them away quickly when he heard someone step out onto the balcony.

"It's hard to believe, isn't it?" Daisy whispered, stepping up beside him and leaning on the balcony herself, "I mean that all this happened so long ago. It seems like only yesterday, we were waiting for Toad to come for tea..."

"Yeah, and looking for him in the forest..."

"Which was perfectly safe at the time, wasn't it?" Daisy said, laughing ever so slightly, before falling silent again, "It's just hard to believe, that day started off so normally, and then all this happened," she said, raising a hand to her forehead and sighing, "at least it all ended alright..."

"For the most part," Luigi said, "There's still my brother."

"That's true. I'm still so sorry."

"Don't be. He did what's right. I'm sure he has a special with the Stars now," Luigi said, looking up to the sky one last time before lowering his head and turning away, back to the doorway that lead inside.

"I think I'm going to call it a night," he said, yawning and starting towards the door, "It's been a long day."

"That it has. I've got a long way to go, so I'd better get going myself," Daisy said, "Are you going to be alright?"

"Me? Of course! I thought you knew me better than that!" Luigi said, laughing. He stopped laughing when she narrowed her eyes slightly, as she always seemed to do when something annoyed her.

"What did I do now?" he asked.

"I'm serious, Luigi. Your brother -died- a year ago. Knowing you, it would bother you - Don't tell me it doesn't!" she added when he opened his mouth to protest, "I know that if my brother died, I wouldn't be able to let it go so easily."

He didn't quite know what to say, she was right, in a sense. There wasn't a day when he didn't miss Mario, but the way she was talking about it made it seem like he would jump off a bridge at any given moment. He knew he wouldn't do such a thing, and knew that she knew that as well. It struck him as odd that she would be so worried over him, as she usually didn't get too worried over anything. But he hated to see her fret over such a senseless thing.

"Don't worry about me, I'm going to be perfectly fine," Luigi said, "And I'm not saying that I don't miss him, or that I don't feel the pain. I won't lie to you, it hurts. It hurts so much, but nothing's going to happen to me, okay? In fact, I think that if anyone, you should go speak with Peach."

"Alright, if you're really sure..."

"I am," he said, and decided it would be best to change the subject at such a depressing moment, and did so, "Well; we'd better get going now, eh? Let's just go say goodbye to Peach and be on our way, okay?" he suggested, taking her hand and leading her through the great glass doors that lead back to the Hall.

Daisy smiled, nodding and following him to bid the Princess farewell and start on their own separate ways.

The sky was dotted with stars, but one stood out against the inky black more than the rest. It shimmered with a brilliant light, directly over the Castle, watching it intently and winking at the stone fortress. It would stay there forever, until the one last breath of life was taken, and the earth became nothing but a lifeless stone floating in space. It would never leave that place, because if the stars could feel, this one would feel at home. But most residents of the Mushroom Kingdom would beg to differ, insist that the Stars -could- feel. They were the dead, those who died at peace (those without peace would return as Boo) and were held in high regard by the Star Spirits. They watched over the very spot where they felt at home, protecting those they loved when they were alive.

This particular Star was stationed at Princess Peach's Castle.

And it shone a bright red.

**The End**


End file.
